Dedicated
by NeonDomino
Summary: A Collection of stories dedicated to others. [Previous] Android!AU - Some androids still retain their humanity. There's enough left inside of them to fall in love and run away together. For Hato-ryou-chan. [Latest] Isolated and alone, Remus' dull life running a B&B takes a turn for the better when his pen-pal shows up, determined to do anything to make Remus happy. For Lizzy.
1. HermioneLucius for Sam

This collection is for stories I've written for others. The pairing/character will be written in the chapter name.

* * *

 **His Choice**

Written for Sam

Lucius/Hermione

* * *

Lucius ran a hand through his long hair, messing it up slightly as he stared at the letter.

"It's about my planned engagement," he murmured.

Hermione merely nodded. Her friends—the Marauders—had finally left her alone to sit at the Slytherin table. Grudgingly of course, though they didn't have to like it.

Everyone else had left for lessons, except the pair.

Hermione suspected that Sirius would be waiting outside of the hall to ensure that Hermione hadn't been murdered unexpectedly. After all, their views on what Slytherins got upto in the castle were highly distorted.

Hermione reached across the table, her hand resting on his. She had expected this letter to come one day, but hadn't been sure when.

"I'll understand if you wanted to end this," she whispered. "I know what your family mean to you."

"What?" He pulled his hand away, his gaze shooting up from the parchment. "What are you saying?"

"I'm giving you an easy 'out' from what we have. We both knew that this wouldn't be a forever thing."

"Is this what you want?" Lucius demanded angrily. "Do I not _please_ you?"

She shivered at the words, recalling the last time he asked if he pleased her. "You do," she admitted. "I don't want to end this, but I thought you'd want—"

"Don't presume to know what I want," Lucius snapped, the soft caress of his hand on hers softening the words.

"I—"

"You," he whispered. "I chose you." His grey eyes were so piercing as he looked at her that she could have sworn she could feel it. "Merlin help me, but I can't picture a future without you. This… this causes a problem unfortunately. I have associates that will be displeased."

Hermione nodded slightly, knowing full well who those associates were, though Lucius had no idea that she was aware.

"I have associates of my own," she firmly insisted. "So you have to be sure about your choice, Lucius."

"I've never been so sure about something in my life." She shivered as he lifted her hand and brought it to his lips. "I think we'll have to see these associates sooner rather than later."

* * *

Review Please :)


	2. JamesRegulus for Jas

Written for Jas

* * *

Seeing Colour

James/Regulus (with some Wolfstar)

* * *

"Amber!" Sirius cried, laughing in delight. "His eyes are amber. Trust me, James. There's no more beautiful colour than amber."

James grinned widely. "I'm happy for you," he insisted. He was happy for his roommate of two months. After all, ever since they both got assigned to the same room at university, they had become inseparable. James knew he had a friend for life the moment he had met Sirius Black.

It didn't stop him being slightly jealous of Sirius though. He had been searching for his own soulmate since he was fourteen.

Sirius was lucky. He found his easily and Remus Lupin seemed just as captivated as Sirius was about him.

Though he could do without Sirius going on and on about colours, he didn't voice his annoyance. After all, it'd be him doing the same thing one day.

...oOo...

Grey. Black. White. Dark grey. Light grey. Almost grey. Charcoal. So few colours, he barely realised that things had changed after looking into grey eyes.

Sirius had said that the second his eyes locked with Remus', he saw amber.

James only saw grey when being introduced to Regulus Black for the first time.

"Your eyes are… what colours are these?" Regulus asked, staring curiously at him.

James internally sighed. Great. Another Black with a soulmate and seeing in colour.

"I'm not sure. Not met _'the one'_ yet," he said politely.

Sirius' brother gave him a slightly funny look.

"No, Regulus hasn't met his one either, have you, Reggie?" Sirius threw an arm over Regulus' shoulders and James looked between them for a moment before his gaze locked onto the scarf Regulus was wearing.

"Your scarf isn't grey!" James exclaimed.

Regulus looked down. "I like this colour," he murmured, his fingers reaching for the green material.

"But if I can see your scarf in colour, why are your eyes and hair still grey and black?"

"Because that's the colour they're supposed to be," Sirius replied, frowning. "Wait. How can you both see colour?"

He looked between them suspiciously for a long moment before it clicked. He pulled Regulus tighter towards him and glared at James.

"This is my baby brother I'll have you know," he said, his eyes narrowing. "Bros don't date their bros' brothers!"

"Sirius, he's clearly my soulmate," Regulus said, pulling out of Sirius' grip. "You're kind of ruining the moment for the both of us."

"Like I care. I still have to threaten to kill James if he hurts you or touches you inappropriately!"

"I'm nineteen years old," Regulus pointed out. "Only a year younger than you. I can take care of myself. Go away. I bet Remus is lonely without you."

Sirius hesitated, looking eager to rush off to find Remus.

"Yeah. You know how attractive he looks in those cardigans. I bet someone is trying to get a look underneath them as we speak."

Without another word, Sirius rushed away, leaving the pair alone in the dorm-room.

"Shall we try this again?" James asked, reaching out and grabbing Regulus' arm. He stared into his eyes. "I've spent my life waiting to see more than grey, but I have to say that I'd really like to spend forever looking into your soft grey eyes."

Regulus rolled his eyes and tried to hide a smile. "Maybe it was better when Sirius was here. I think you're ruining the moment a lot better than he did."

* * *

Review Please :)


	3. RegulusBarty for Sophie

To Be a Knight

Written for Sophie

* * *

Regulus paced back and forth near the throne. His brother had disappeared months earlier, running off with a peasant, leaving him as the heir to the throne.

But with that title came more responsibility. Whilst his parents enjoyed their lives as powerful rulers, discussing waging war on a neighbouring Kingdom, Regulus was left to deal with the issues brought to him by the Lords that owned land.

After yet another complaint about bad harvests and misbehaving servants, Regulus had just about enough of the 'issues' that the spoilt Lords thought he would help them with. Their bad harvests were because they didn't plant enough, or planted out of season. Misbehaving servants turned out to be the mistreated ones, or some had run away.

None of it was his problem. Nothing that he felt the need to help with. After checking that the lands had enough food still after the harvest, he sent the Lords away.

"My Prince, another Lord has arrived," a soldier announced.

Regulus sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before heading back to the throne and taking a seat. "Escort him in," he ordered.

The door opened quickly and the Lord walked in, stopping a few feet away from the throne and dropping down to one knee in a bow. "My Prince."

"You may rise," Regulus offered. "Why are you here today?"

"I wish to be under your employ as a Knight," the man requested. "I wish to receive a summons that you would require me."

"What reason would I do that?" Regulus asked. It wasn't unheard of that Lords or their sons would become Knights. No, what this man was requesting was for Regulus to summon him.

"My parents are arranging a marriage for me. I do not wish to marry."

"And becoming a Knight is your freedom?" Regulus asked.

"I informed them several months ago that I wished this," the man stated. "That was when my father forbid this and started trying to arrange my marriage. My father cannot go against a direct order from the castle."

Regulus nodded his head. "What is your name?"

"Lord Crouch. Bartemius Crouch Junior," the man stated. "More commonly known as Barty."

"Barty, expect the summons within the next few days. Don't think we will go easy on you because of who your father is."

"I wouldn't expect that at all, my Prince."

"Or because of your attempts at escape."

"As long as I don't have to marry a woman, I will do whatever you need." Barty bowed lowly again. "Thank you."

Regulus stared at the man, their eyes locking for a long moment. With his last words, it all became clear to Regulus. It wasn't _who_ he was marrying that appeared to be the problem. More that it was a _woman_.

Regulus could understand that concern. It was something that kept him awake at night himself, though he knew he had a duty and accepted it. It didn't mean that he couldn't also be happy.

"I have no more people to see," Regulus began softly, testing the water slightly. "Would you like to stay in the castle for a while… with me?"

Barty's lips curved into a smirk. "I would like that very much, my Prince."

Regulus stood from the throne and walked over to Barty. "It's Regulus," he murmured, "when we're alone."

* * *

 **Review Please :)**

 **Thanks Dina for the help!**


	4. SeverusLuna for Jenny

**Future**

 **Written for Jenny**

 **Snape/Luna**

* * *

"What is that around your neck?" Severus demanded. His eyes were locked onto an hourglass on a long, thick golden chain.

"This?" Luna glanced down at the heavy necklace around her neck. "It's a time-turner."

Severus looked between the pair. "And why do you have a time-turner?" he asked, his voice soft and dangerous.

"To time travel," Luna replied simply, her fingers absentmindedly moving down the golden chain. "That's why we're here after all."

"And you weren't going to tell me?" Severus asked.

"We didn't know if we could trust you," Hermione said, shooting a look towards Luna, slightly exasperated that Luna had given up the answers so easily. "We still don't know. We would have, eventually. You shouldn't just burst into rooms without knocking."

"Pray tell me what I've done to cause this mistrust?" Severus asked, ignoring Hermione's comment about knocking first.

"It's not what you've done, it's what you're going to do," Hermione said. "Severus, we know the future. We know your life until the point where you die. I was there when you took your last breath."

His black eyes flicked between the pair and they could see the uncertainty in them. "Do I… do I die happy?" he whispered.

"No," came her curt answer. "But we can change things, Severus."

"Lily?"

"She'll be dead in a few years because of your actions. Choosing the right side means you're allowing her to live longer. You'll allow her to raise her son. You won't be the one to find her dead body. You won't be the one to set Voldemort on the path which leads to the death of her and James."

Severus' lip curled at the mention of James' name.

"This is an important moment," Luna murmured, her soft lilt quickly drawing Severus' focus. "This moment is where we change history. Maybe you'll be nice to your students this time around?"

"Students? I'm a professor?" Severus asked curiously.

"A potions professor," Luna confirmed. "Though you weren't very impressed with my style of potion making."

Severus raised an eyebrow at her. "Is anyone impressed by that?" he asked.

She just smiled in response. "I prefer watching you work," she insisted. "I like watching how your hands move when you're making a potion and the concentration you put into it. I like the enjoyment in your eyes. You look happy when you're at the cauldron."

"Does it stay that way?" Severus asked, his voice softer than before. "Surely something in my future made me happy?"

"It did, though I think you hid it better," Luna said. "You should join us, Severus. You can protect Lily. You can protect yourself. You can be happy and have a future."

Luna reached out, taking his hand in her own. The mask Severus tried to hide behind faltered at the touch.

"These past few months of getting to know you show us what a kind, caring person you are deep down, even if you try to hide it. We want to give you the future you deserve. Not with Lily, but maybe one day you'd be able to find someone else?"

He continued staring at her hand in his own.

"Perhaps I will," he whispered.

* * *

 **Review Please :)**


	5. SiriusRemus for Butter

The Perfect Ring

* * *

Written for: Butter

Writing Club: Make Up Your Mind Day - Write about someone making their mind up on something.

* * *

Remus trailed after James as he examined the various charms behind the glass. "Which one do you think Lily would like the most?" he murmured quietly, before turning to the next display, his back to Remus.

Remus looked around at the other people there. He knew James wasn't talking to him—not anymore—and was talking to himself, trying to find something special for his fiance for Christmas.

He glanced back, only to find James at the counter, talking to a man there.

Remus let out a small sigh. He knew he was going to be there for a little while still, and knew exactly what charm Lily would love. He would show it to James when James got to the point of desperately begging for his help.

It wasn't him trying to be mean. It was just that this was the only time James would actually listen to his advice.

Remus began to walk around the shop, looking through the displays, hoping to find something for his mum, though his attempt was half-hearted as he knew there was a purse she'd been after, though had refused to buy it because she felt it was slightly overpriced (his mum was hoping it would be reduced in the after-Christmas sales).

He froze when his eyes fell on the ring. The name had drawn his attention to it, and he found he couldn't look away.

The Forever Ring.

Two white gold bands braided against each other, small cubic Zirconia gemstones were inlaid in both braids.

It may have been a woman's ring, but it didn't look overly feminine and Remus couldn't tear his eyes away from it. If the stones had been diamonds, it could have been an engagement ring.

He took a small step back as the thought stayed in his head. Engagement. Engagement meant marriage. It meant committing his whole life to Sirius. It meant forever.

And the thought didn't scare him. In fact, he was already that committed to Sirius. Sirius was intense and demanding and had already made it clear how serious he was about Remus. Remus knew it was because he was full of self-doubt and that Sirius didn't agree with the doubts and wanted Remus to realise just how much he was loved.

The more he looked at the ring, the more he could picture it on Sirius' hand. On his left hand. There was no doubt in his mind that he wanted to be the one to put that ring on Sirius' finger. It might not be diamond, it might not cost a fortune, but it was the thought that counted… right?

"James?" he asked, as he approached, hoping James wasn't too busy. His friend heard the need in his voice and turned away from the sales-assistant, giving Remus his full attention.

"Remus?"

"I need your help. You're still the same ring size as Sirius, right?"

James nodded. "Yeah. Lily likes to take him shopping so they can pick out our wedding rings. Why?"

"I… I want to get Sirius a ring and I need you to try it on," Remus blurted out.

James was surprised for a moment but smiled and nodded. "Sure," he agreed. He turned back to the counter to the girl watching them. "Can my friend see a ring?"

"The Forever Ring," Remus quickly added. The woman nodded and disappeared into the storeroom to get the ring.

...oOo...

James picked up the ring, examining it. "Yeah, I can see him wearing this," he agreed as he began to slide it onto his right hand.

"No. It's… the other hand," Remus said, his face going red at James' knowing look.

"Moony, are you proposing to Sirius?" James asked, delighted at the information as he switched the ring to his other hand. "Too big." He turned to the woman again. "My ring size is P."

She placed the ring into the box and put it under the counter, choosing another and silently handing it over. James slipped the ring on. It was a perfect fit.

"Will he like it?" Remus asked as James slipped it off again.

"Mate, you could propose with a keyring or a hula hoop and he'd say yes," James replied. "But yeah, he'll love this. It's a good pick. Very Sirius!"

Remus smiled and turned to the assistant. "I'll take that."

The pair turned to follow the woman to the counter, but Remus froze at the sound of a snort.

"It's disgraceful," a voice said, dripping with disdain. "An engagement ring at that price, and one without a single diamond. I hardly see the point of it. I hope he's not expecting a 'yes'."

James spun around, stalking over to the man. Remus turned too, forcing himself to not run out of the shop without the ring.

"Oi, I'll have you know that the price of the ring doesn't matter," James snapped. "It's the intent behind it."

"James, it doesn't matter," Remus said.

"It does. This pretentious twat clearly doesn't know how to do his job. You're a customer and I want to speak to the manager."

"James."

"No." He turned to another sales assistant. "I want to see the manager, now."

...oOo…

"Are you alright, love?" Sirius asked. "You've been quiet for ages."

Remus smiled nervously.

"Is it because I'm meeting your parents for the first time tonight?" Sirius asked, his eyes widening slightly. "I'll behave. I won't pinch your arse in front of them, and I'll try to hold back on the snogging. Though, if there's mistletoe, I can't make any promises. I'll even leave the dirty presents here so they won't see the… stuff."

Remus snorted. "It's not that. My parents already love you from what they've heard about you. It's just…" he hesitated for a moment, before slipping his hand into his pocket. "I was going to do this tomorrow, but I don't want my parents as an audience. Plus, it's not your Christmas present, so maybe now is the best time."

"Do what?" Sirius asked, his grey eyes darting to Remus' hand in his pocket, before looking back at Remus' face. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean I should have taken you out somewhere nice, or… found an inventive way for this, but I thought you'd prefer it to be just us right now."

"Remus, you know I don't like it when I have to guess what's going on," Sirius whined. "Tell me." His eyes widened and Remus tried not to laugh as Sirius attempted to use his famous puppy-dog-eyes expression.

He pulled the box out of his pocket and silently held it out in the palm of his hand. "Open it."

Sirius' fingers shook as he slowly reached for the box. Remus could see the wheels turning in Sirius' head and the hopeful expression as his eyes darted between Remus and the box. With trembling fingers, he flicked the lid of the box up.

"Marry me?" Remus whispered.

"Of course!" Sirius said, throwing himself at Remus for a kiss and knocking the box and the ring to the floor. As quick as he launched himself at Remus, he dropped to the floor to grab the ring and put it on his finger.

"Perfect," he murmured, admiring it.

"It's not got real diamonds or anything," Remus quickly explained. "In fact, the man in the shop thought it wasn't suitable for an engagement ring."

"I have to disagree I think it's perfect. I hope you set him straight."

"Actually James did," Remus admitted. "He was shouting for a manager. He even got me a discount on the ring because of his complaining."

"Typical James," Sirius said with a laugh as he climbed back onto the sofa. "So, engaged? You want to marry me. I hoped this would happen one day but kind of pictured myself doing the asking."

"I couldn't help it. I saw the ring and it was perfect. Then I thought about being engaged and committing my life to you and it didn't scare me. In fact, I couldn't think of anything I wanted more."

"I can think of something I want more," Sirius murmured. "If you'll let me thank you for the ring that is."

Remus stared at him for a long moment before grabbing his hand and yanking him up from the sofa. "Bedroom, clothes off," he ordered. "But keep the ring on!"

* * *

Review Please :)

Thanks to Shannon for the help.


	6. HermioneFred for MaryandMerlin

**Saved**

* * *

Written for MaryandMerlin

Fred/Hermione

Mermaid!AU

* * *

Hermione wasn't certain what was happening. One minute she was laying in her boat which was tied up on the docks. The sun was setting and she was waiting for Harry.

The next thing she knew, she was floating in open sea. The water leaking into her boat waking her from her sleep. She wasn't sure how the boat had untied itself, as she had checked the knot before climbing in the boat. She was also certain there had been no hole in the boat.

Her feet were soaking, sitting in the water as it spilled in and Hermione looked around for anything to push it back out and plug the boat, but there was nothing. A tiny pinprick of light told her which way the town was, and she could only hope that Harry had alerted someone. She had to hope that he turned up and saw the boat was gone and put the pieces together.

It didn't take long for the water to weigh the boat down. In that time, Hermione had shed her shoes and her coat, knowing the weight wouldn't help her. Instead, she began the slow swim back to shore.

The wind and waves pushed her around, making all attempts futile. She kept herself afloat, but had barely covered any distance. She was freezing, she was struggling to breath and she was certain that if she did survive, she'd probably be very sick from the ordeal.

The thought that she might not survive terrified her and she tried one last time to swim, but her muscles ached. Her body began to give up and she felt herself sink under the water. It burnt her lungs as she swallowed mouthfuls of it, coughing as everything started to go black.

She almost didn't feel the strong arms wrap around her, dragging her up and out of the water. She didn't pay attention to the splash of water or the wind on her face as they moved towards the shore.

...oOo…

She stared up at the face of the man who had saved her. Concerned brown eyes stared down at her and a hand reached for her face, brushing her mane of hair out of her eyes.

"You saved me?"

He nodded his head, a cheeky grin on his face. "The extremes you go through to get my attention," he said teasingly. "You could have just called."

"C...called?" Hermione asked, uncertain what the man was talking about.

"Yes, with the shell," he told her. He reached up, his fingers running through his red hair. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice softer. "Do you need CPR? Do you need a doctor?"

"Perhaps I do," she whispered. "Just to get checked over."

"I know CPR," he said helpfully before moving closer. His lips slowly moved towards hers, as though giving her time to push him away. Hermione made no such move. Her chin tilted and her eyes fluttered shut as the handsome man's lips were almost upon hers.

Seconds later she shoved him, hard.

"Hey? What was that for?"

"I thought you were going to kiss me," she snapped.

"But you said you need CPR," he complained, frowning and rubbing his arm. "If you wanted a kiss, you should have said."

"I… I have to get home," Hermione told him, trying to push herself off the ground and failing. "Will I see you again?"

He smiled widely. "You want to see me again? Of course, that's if you promise not to try and drown to get my attention again. Just come out here and summon me."

"Summon you?" Hermione repeated.

"With a shell. I'm a guard around here and I'll always come when you call. I'd like to see you again."

She nodded her head. "I'm Hermione. I'll be back soon."

"I'm Fred," he replied.

Hermione pushed herself to her feet, wobbling slightly. Seeing in the dark was a struggle, but there was no way she could miss that there was a tail in place of where Fred's legs should be.

His tail was red with golden scales and absolutely beautiful.

"They become legs when they dry," Fred offered nervously.

"It's not that. It's just… you're beautiful," she whispered.

"You say that to all the mermen," Fred replied, his cheeky confidence rushing back at her words. "So… tomorrow?"

Hermione nodded. "I can't wait." She walked across the beach and back to the pier, hearing the sound of a splash behind her. She knew that Fred had returned to the sea and hoped she hadn't imagined him.

"Hermione! There you are!" Harry exclaimed.

"Harry," she replied, her eyes widening. "I got stranded at sea. I think… I think a merman saved me."

Harry snorted. "You drank the sea water, didn't you?" he asked. "Lets get you to the hospital. I'll call Luna and ask her to bring you some dry clothes." He wrapped an arm around her, helping her walk.

Hermione turned her attention back to the water. Had she imagined it?

There was a flash of gold in the water and Hermione smiled, knowing that he was out there, waiting for her to return.

* * *

 **Review Please :)**


	7. DracoHarry for Lin

**Dedicated to Lynn. Prompts used: Draco Malfoy, table, broom, anger,** **realisation**

 **Writing club: Write about Draco Malfoy.**

* * *

 **Dreamy Eyes**

 **Draco/Harry**

* * *

Draco moved his arm slightly as Pansy's fingers edged towards it and he internally sighed. Clearly Pansy wasn't going to give up easily. He didn't know how much more he could handle of her 'innocent' touches and the way she laughed at everything he said.

Even Draco didn't think he was _that_ funny.

He turned away, his back to her as much as he possibly could, and his eyes landed on the Gryffindor table.

Straight to Potter.

Draco's eyes narrowed at the sight of the dark-haired wizard. Why wasn't someone like Potter lording it over the others at his table? He was _famous_ and they were merely in awe of him. They would bow at his feet if he asked them to.

As he watched Potter laugh his the blood-traitor, he felt his anger rise. Here he was sitting alone with only Pansy for company, (not that she really counted). Across the hall was Potter—who didn't want any of the attention—with the adoring fans. What was wrong with the students at the school?

Draco stared at Potter, trying to see what they could see. Well, his hair—though a mess—suited him. It was messy and the bedhead look was quite flattering to Potter. At least he didn't have to worry about the wind blowing it when he was flying. Flying was another good point. Draco could see how the crowd were in awe of his skills... though they were so focused on Potter, they missed Draco's outstanding performance. Draco had to admit that Potter could handle his broom very well!

Plus, those green eyes. They sparkled like the expensive emeralds that mother wore.

Draco tore his gaze away when fingers trailed over his arm. "Draco, why are you so distracted today?" Pansy purred. He let out an irritated huff, not bothering to hide the noise this time, before scooting away from her. His gaze returned to Potter.

Where was he? Oh yes. The beautiful eyes. Draco paled as he realised which was his thoughts were heading. He was so distracted, he didn't hear Pansy stomp away from the table.

Not beautiful at all. They were just eyes. Just green, dreamy eyes. No. Eyes. Plain eyes. Boring eyes. Lots of people had green eyes.

But not ones that sparkled like Ha—Potter's eyes.

Wait. What?

* * *

 **Review Please :)**

 **Thanks to Shannon for the help!**


	8. LuciusHermione for Sam

For Sam

* * *

 **Lunch**

 **Lucius/Hermione**

* * *

"Miss Granger."

Hermione mentally rolled her eyes before turning towards Lucius Malfoy. The man had a bad habit of turning up at her office clearly just to bother her and make her life difficult.

"Mr Malfoy," she replied calmly, before turning back to her work.

"Should you be working through your lunch?" he asked.

Hermione nodded, her eyes on the scroll in front of her. "I wanted to get this scroll finished before I took a break. I'm on the verge of deciphering it. I just need to work out a couple more markings."

"May I suggest that you take a break. Perhaps returning to it with a fresh perspective and a full stomach would make a difference?"

"I'm not hungry," Hermione said just as her traitorous stomach gave a loud growl, causing the man in front of her to smirk. "Much," she added.

"Miss Granger, I know a great place for lunch nearby. I don't think you turning me down—again—is a good idea. Lunch is _of course_ on me."

Hermione bit her lip. The mention of lunch made her realise just how hungry she was.

"One lunch," she finally agreed. "But I can't stay too long. I want to finish working on this scroll."

Lucius offered his arm and Hermione quickly got up from her seat and grabbed her purse. She only hesitated for a moment before taking Lucius' arm.

...oOo...

Hermione glanced around the small restaurant in a part of Diagon Alley Hermione didn't even know existed. It didn't take long for a Waiter to head over and take their drinks orders.

"So what brought you to the Ministry today?" Hermione asked. After all, Lucius Malfoy was taking her to lunch. She couldn't help but be intrigued as to what he needed her for.

"To request the pleasure of your company, Miss Granger," he murmured, his silky voice sending a shiver through her. "Though it's taken me awhile to get it."

"You should have been clearer that you intended to see me," Hermione replied. "I thought I was merely a stop on your way to or from going about your business."

"Would you have agreed to have lunch sooner if you knew?" Lucius asked.

Hermione gave a small shrug and couldn't help but smile. "I guess you'll never know."

"I don't need to," Lucius said, carefully observing Hermione. "I'm having lunch with you now, and I must admit that visit your office has been an enjoyable experience."

Hermione felt her smile grow and reached for the menu, uncertain of what to say to the older man.

Had someone told her two years before that she'd be sitting down to lunch with Lucius Malfoy, she'd have thought that they had taken a dodgy potion. But after the war, so much changed.

Somewhere along the line, Lucius changed too. Maybe it was an act with him trying to prove he wasn't the same man. Maybe it was true.

But Hermione wanted to give the Malfoys the benefit of the doubt. Especially with the way Lucius had been treating her when he passed by her office. It had been a month and he had been nothing but pleasant.

The old Lucius would not have sat down with a Muggleborn for a meal. Of that she was certain.

Lucius picked up his glass of wine and sipped it, immediately frowning. "Excuse me," he said, taking Hermione's glass. "This is not what I ordered."

With that, he disappeared.

...oOo...

"Hermione? What are you doing here?"

"Ron! When did you get back?" Hermione stood up, throwing her arms around Ron. "I thought you were working for another week."

"Finished early," Ron said, grinning. "So, how are you?" He dropped down into Lucius' vacated seat.

"I'm good. Busy with work," Hermione admitted. "You?"

"Work?" Ron replied, frowning at her. "Is that all you've been doing. Really Hermione, you need to go on dates and stuff."

Hermione bit her lip. After all, lunch didn't class as a date… right?

"How about I take you out tomorrow for dinner and we can go for drinks and—"

"I sincerely hope you're not attempting to ask my date out," came a cold voice. Ron paled slightly as he looked up at an unimpressed Lucius standing next to the table, his face hiding the majority of his emotion.

Hermione wondered if the way his hand was clenching hard on the handle of his cane was an indication of how jealous he was.

"Your date?" Ron finally replied. "Hermione, you're on a date with Malfoy? Don't you remember what he did? Are you sure about this?"

"I am!" Hermione replied. "Ron, about tomorrow—"

"Miss Granger has outstanding dinner plans for tomorrow. Perhaps another time," Lucius said.

Ron looked between them for a moment before nodding slightly. He stood up and gave Hermione a swift kiss on her cheek before leaving.

Hermione turned her attention back to Lucius as he took his seat again.

"Just so you're aware, that is the only time you'll get away with telling me what to do," she said frostily. "I expect any man I'm in a relationship with to have respect for my friends and to not try and control who I see."

Lucius looked quite smug at the words.

"Tell me Miss Granger, what type of relationship are we in?"

Hermione froze at the question, quickly replaying her words and realising her slip up.

"A familiar relationship? A romantic relationship perhaps? Or a sexual one?"

She couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine and it was clear that Lucius noticed by the way his eyes narrowed slightly and his smirk grew.

* * *

 **Review Please :)**


	9. Wolfstar for Shannon

**His Wedding Date**

 **For Shannon**

 **I got very carried away with this plot!**

* * *

When invited to his ex's wedding, Remus feels the need to prove he's moved on too.

* * *

Remus stared at the envelope for a few minutes, thoughts running through his head at what else it could be. He refused to tell himself that he had been invited to his ex's wedding. No. It was clearly something else important. One of the children in his family were having a Christening. A Holy Communion perhaps? A… baby shower. Molly _was_ pregnant after all and mothered him enough that he knew he could wrangle an invitation if he wanted.

After a long moment—and a cup of tea and a big piece of chocolate to calm his nerves—Remus tore open the corner of the envelope. He slipped his finger into the hole and tore across the rest of the envelope.

Slowly he withdrew the cream card from the envelope, his eyes immediately falling on the name he had expected to see.

.

 _TOGETHER WITH THEIR FAMILIES_

 _LILY EVANS_

 _AND_

 _JAMES POTTER_

 _REQUEST THE PLEASURE OF YOUR COMPANY_

 _AT THE CELEBRATION OF THEIR MARRIAGE._

 _._

Remus barely noticed when the card fell from his hand and hit the floor.

...oOo...

"Remus?"

Remus didn't move from where he had dropped down on the sofa. He didn't even glance around as his name was called.

"Remmy. Moonpie, Moonshine! Dammit Remus, where are you?"

The living room door creaked and Remus could feel eyes on him. "We were meant to meet for coffee," Sirius grumbled, pushing the door open further. "Please don't tell me you've spent all of this time attempting to pick a cardigan for… oh. What's this?"

Remus' head turned towards the card as Sirius reached for it. "What have you been invited to?" he asked, turning the card over. Grey eyes widened and quickly moved to look at Remus. "Shit," Sirius muttered. "I didn't know he had sent these out yet."

"You knew he was sending me one?" Remus asked, his voice breaking slightly.

Sirius moved quickly across the room, dropping down next to Remus. "I wasn't sure," he admitted. "James sees you as one of his closest friends, despite the break-up. I thought he'd invite you, but didn't want to say anything in case he didn't."

As quickly as he had sat down, Sirius got up and left the room. Remus could hear him moving around the kitchen, and could hear him shut the fridge.

A minute later, Sirius returned with a tray containing cups of tea and a couple of chocolate bars.

"Well, if we're not going out for drinks, we'll have them here," he said, taking Remus' from the tray and setting it down on the table before doing the same to his own. "What are you going to do?"

"If I don't go, it'll just mess up our friendship even more," Remus said. "If I go… it'll be hard to see he's really moved on. Maybe seeing it will help me move on?"

There was a flash in Sirius' eyes. "Maybe it would be good for you to go then? I hate seeing you hurting over James. I want to see you happy again." Sirius' hand rested on Remus' and Remus smiled softly, glad at his friend's support.

"I can't go there alone though," Remus said, sighing. "I don't want his pity. I don't want him to think I'm unable to have another relationship. I know things have been so awkward between me and James for a long time, but this is proof that there won't be a Remus and James ever again. I think I need to show James that I've moved on too."

"But you haven't," Sirius murmured.

"But James doesn't know that," Remus replied. "It's been a few months since we last talked. I could have started seeing someone since then."

"So what? You'll ask the next person you meet?" Sirius asked.

"No. Maybe someone from… from work or something?" Remus said. "There's Benjy who used to live next door to me. We talk sometimes. I'm sure he'll do me a favour—"

Sirius snorted, interrupting Remus. "No. I've never liked him. He's the sort that'll take advantage of your emotional state. I'll do it."

"I can't ask you to do that," Remus replied. "I can't ask you to lie to James. He'll want to know why you haven't said anything. What if you meet someone else that you'd rather bring to—"

"Remus, I wouldn't offer if I wasn't sure. I want to bring you. I want to pretend to be your boyfriend so you'll be happy. I want you to avoid all of the things you've said that will make you uncomfortable. I also want to help you avoid the awkwardness of kissing someone you barely know, or dancing with them. With me, it'll be easier to maintain the story. As for James, well, I've not spoken to him much as he's been busy with the wedding plans and his assignment abroad. I can just say that we've been together for a couple of months and I didn't tell him because it was something I wanted to tell him face to face."

"Do you think he'll buy it?"

"I'm certain," Sirius replied, nodding his head, his eyes never leaving Remus. "If you're comfortable with this of course. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"I am comfortable with the idea," Remus admitted. The idea of a fake boyfriend had been daunting, but with it being Sirius… well, that eased Remus' mind considerably.

...oOo…

"Okay, it's less than a week until the wedding," Remus said, trying on his suit in the changing room. "We need cover stories."

"I have an idea," Sirius said from the next stall. "You know how we went drinking a couple of months ago and I crashed at yours on the sofa?"

"Yeah…" Remus replied.

"Well, you remember James called during breakfast? Well, we could say it started then? We got a bit drunk and ended up in bed together."

"But that'd be a one-night stand, and—"

"And we say that we both remembered enough to know it felt right and we slept together a couple more times before I asked you out to dinner on a date. We've been seeing each other ever since."

Remus considered the idea. He did go drinking with Sirius sometimes, and it was perfect to choose a day that James had called when the pair had been together at such an early hour. It really worked for the story. He couldn't find any fault in it because it didn't need a lot of details or talking about romantic gestures.

"Yes, let's tell him that," Remus agreed. "So… who initiated it?"

"Me the first time, you the second," Sirius suggested.

Remus hung the suit on the back of the door and began to put his clothes back on. "The suit fits fine," he said. "No more adjustments needed. But we need to discuss how we're going to look like a couple."

"I think we should just go with the flow. We don't want it to appear forced, we want it to flow. If you want to put your arm around me, do it. Want to hold my hand, go ahead. We dance slow, share an occasional kiss…"

"Kiss?" Remus repeated quickly. "Will that be weird?"

There was a long silence and Remus stared at the wall separating him and Sirius.

"Only if we let it be," Sirius finally replied, his voice so quiet, Remus could barely hear him. "It won't feel weird to me. I'm sure about it."

Remus heard the lock open on Sirius' changing room and he opened his own to find Sirius standing there.

Before Remus could say anything, Sirius stepped forward, his lips pressing against Remus' softly. "See, not weird at all."

He grinned at Remus, looking happier than Remus had seen him in a long time, though Remus wasn't sure what Sirius was so happy about. "Come on, let's tell them that we're ready to take our suits."

Remus watched after him, his fingers moving to his lips. Sirius was right, not weird at all.

It felt...right.

...oOo...

The next day, the pair travelled to the hotel in which the wedding was being held. Sirius as the best man, had already booked a large suite to himself. After much discussion, the pair had decided it would be best that they share to make the relationship appear more real. After all, if they were sleeping together, it would be natural for the pair of them to share a room.

Remus looked around the large room, his eyes moving from one detail to another before falling on the massive bed.

"So, we're sharing a bed?" he asked.

"Unless you'd prefer I sleep on the couch?" Sirius offered.

"It's fine," Remus assured him. "I just… this is all so strange. A few weeks ago you were my best friend. Now you're my pretend boyfriend and we're sharing a bed and we kissed a few days ago and we're going to be touching and kissing and acting like we're in love."

Sirius cleared his throat. "Let's unpack. Then we'll see who else is here. Should we kiss again and get used to it?"

Remus bit his lip. "Maybe, if that's okay with you?"

Sirius grinned and moved closer to Remus. "It's okay with me," he assured him.

Remus felt hands carefully rest on his waist, pulling him closer and suddenly Sirius' lips were on his a second time. Though Sirius did more than brush his lips against Remus'. His lips were moving and Remus quickly copied, closing his eyes and losing himself in the sensation. Sirius' lips gently tugged at Remus' bottom lip and Remus brought a hand up to the back of Sirius' neck.

He hadn't been kissed like that since…

Remus quickly pulled away, his eyes wide. He didn't want to think about what he had with James. The point of the visit was to finally move on.

Sirius stepped back, his face showing no emotion. "Was that too much?"

"It wasn't," Remus whispered. "It's just been a long time since I've been kissed like that. I'll get used to it."

Sirius' hand pressed against the side of Remus' face. "I won't do that again. I'll stick with the other kisses, the less—"

"It's fine," Remus assured him. "Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe I needed that to help me get past this all."

Sirius nodded slightly before moving away once more. "I'm going to go and unpack," he said.

As he walked away, Remus wondered why Sirius had sounded upset.

...oOo...

Remus fidgeted with the cuff of his suit as Sirius led them into the room. The guests weren't supposed to arrive for another day, but since Sirius was the best man, he had been asked to come up a day early.

Remus had chosen to stay in the room and read whilst Sirius headed to help James out.

"Relax," Sirius murmured, his fingers gently caressing Remus' waist as they walked. "I hinted to James that I had some news when he asked if I'm seeing someone."

They approached the group of people and Remus spotted James, his back to them. He felt panic rise inside of him, and Sirius pulled him slightly closer. "I've got you," he whispered.

Remus was glad that Sirius was there, offering support, as James turned. Remus' eyes found hazel as he looked upon the man he had wanted a future with. He had seen James many times since they had broken the relationship off, but this was different. This was James' wedding.

"Sirius and… Remus?" The surprise was clear in James' eyes. "No wonder you didn't tell me over the phone." James reached out, drawing Remus into a hug. "Remus, it's been too long," he scolded happily. "I was worried you'd change your mind and not come." He let go, throwing his arms around Sirius. "I'm happy for you both. How did this happen?"

"Funny story," Sirius began. "You remember last time you called and me and Remus were together?"

James' brow furrowed for a moment as he thought back. "It was really early and you were having breakfast…"

"Yeah well, I didn't exactly sleep on Remus' sofa. We… we got drunk and you know how things go."

James grinned. "And what happened next?"

"It just felt right, being with Remus, you know… and I didn't regret making a move on him. The weekend after, it happened again. I had been worried that Remus was going to pretend it didn't happen but he invited me back to his and we both knew… the next evening I asked him out to dinner. It was unexpected, but we're enjoying getting to know each other in a new light."

"I really am happy for you both," James insisted. His hand rested on Remus' shoulder. "I mean it. I really did hope you'd come. I thought maybe part of you still hated... " James shook his head, forcing the concerned look away. "I know Sirius can make you happy and you being here gives me hope that me and you will be okay."

"Oi, Potter. Hands off my man," Sirius said, pulling Remus closer still and frowning at James.

James quickly moved his hand and laughed. "Right. I'll have to remember how possessive you can be. I'm surprised you didn't hit me for hugging him."

"I'm not that bad," Sirius muttered. "We'll join you in a minute. Just let us head to get some drinks. Come on love."

Remus allowed himself to be led away. Once they were near the bar, Sirius moved closer to Remus. "Are you okay?"

"Better than expected,"Remus said. "Seeing James was hard, I'll admit… but it's his wedding and I know that. I know that I've accepted this. I feel like this is a turning point. I can do this, Sirius. I can move on."

Sirius beamed at him. "I'm glad to hear." He brushed his lips against Remus'. "What would you like to drink?"

"A… whatever you're having," Remus replied, slightly thrown by the kiss. He didn't protest to the way Sirius took his hand and led him the rest of the way to the bar.

Remus had thought things would feel weird doing this with Sirius. But the way Sirius was smiling at him and holding his hand felt nice. Remus found he wasn't in as much of a rush to get back to the room as he had been when he had left it.

When they returned to the group, Remus felt at ease. Though Sirius was chatting to James and Remus was talking with the Maid of Honour, Marlene, their hands stayed held tight between them. With Sirius there, Remus felt like he could do anything.

...oOo...

It had been so long since he had shared a bed with someone. In fact, he had only ever shared a bed with one person. James.

Remus assumed that was why he awoke to find himself wrapped tightly around Sirius, with Sirius holding him just as tightly. It took Remus a minute to really get his bearings. He remembered falling asleep on his stomach his head facing away from Sirius. So during the night, he had turned to Sirius, cuddled into him. He had wrapped himself up in his best friend.

And he was the one with the unfortunate morning problem. He shifted his lower body slightly away from Sirius, breathing a sigh of relief when Sirius didn't even stir at the movement.

Remus watched Sirius carefully, taking in the vulnerable expression Sirius wore in his sleep. Sirius had always been quite guarded with his emotions, trying not to show them. Even after the years of being away from his parents, Remus believed that Sirius felt he had to hide how he felt a lot of the time. Either that or he hadn't learnt to let the emotions show much.

Remus hadn't taken the time to just watch Sirius. He watched the other man's chest rise and fall with each breath, his lips slightly parted and the corner of his lips slightly curved up as though he were amused. His legs were tangled with Remus' and he was holding Remus as though he was scared Remus would leave.

Remus knew moving from Sirius' grasp would wake his friend up and he couldn't bring himself to do it. It felt nice being held so tightly. He was happy; comfortable; content.

As long as Sirius felt the same and didn't find it awkward, there was no problem.

With his mind made up, Remus shifted slightly closer to Sirius, still trying to keep their lower bodies apart in case Sirius woke up and noticed, Remus allowed his eyes to drift shut. It had been a long time since he had slept so well. He was going to make the most of it.

...oOo...

When Remus woke next it was to grey eyes watching him just as carefully as he had watched Sirius earlier that morning.

"Morning," Sirius murmured, clearly still tired. There was no trace of a frown on his face, just contentment. Remus wondered if Sirius started every morning this happy and content.

"Morning," Remus murmured. "Sleep well?"

"I did. You?"

"I did too. It's been awhile since I last shared a bed but…"

"But?" Sirius asked, looking slightly worried. "Did I cross any boundaries?"

"Nothing bad. I was going to say that it was nice." Remus felt the blush creep up to his cheeks.

"Nothing wrong with needing someone to hold you during the night. When you don't need me anymore, I'll still be there to do things like this if you wanted me to. You know I'm always here for you, however you need me."

Remus stared at Sirius. The way Sirius spoke made him almost think that Sirius didn't want this to end. He hadn't said 'when this is over' or anything. His words sounded more like he was in this until Remus decided it was finished.

But however Remus needed Sirius? How did he need him? They were friends. Sirius was the most important person in Remus' life and Remus would do anything for Sirius. He didn't doubt that Sirius felt the same. Sirius had been the one beside him every moment, helping him get over James.

There had even been a very awkward moment a few weeks after the breakup where Remus had thrown himself at Sirius and Sirius had kindly turned him down, stayed on the sofa, and made sure Remus was alright the next day.

He wouldn't have made it through the break-up without Sirius.

"Have I ever thanked you for everything you've done for me?" Remus murmured.

"No. But breakfast in bed and a cuddle is a good way to go about it," Sirius replied, closing his eyes and grinning.

Remus shifted closer, wrapping his arms around Sirius tightly. "You know I'd do anything for you too."

"I know," Sirius whispered. "But I want you to choose for yourself what you want to do."

"I feel like I'm missing something," Remus said, shaking his head slightly. "Sirius, will you tell me—"

"No. Don't overthink anything. Just make the most of this," Sirius whispered. "Go back to sleep, Remus. We have hours."

Remus shut his eyes once more. As he tried to fall back asleep, he felt lips gently press against his forehead and arms pull him even closer.

...oOo...

Remus sat in the front row next to James' parents as he listened to the pair say their vows. He found himself staring at James, wondering why the emotions from the day of the invitation weren't rising up inside of him this time.

Dorea Potter had a vice-grip on his hand throughout the ceremony as though she was worried that Remus would get upset at the events. She kept offering him tissues and attempting to comfort him, but Remus felt nothing.

He didn't feel hurt or upset. He wasn't mourning the relationship he had been in, the future he could have had with James.

It felt as though he had let James go. He had been able to move on from what they had. Maybe seeing James at the altar, gazing at Lily in a way he had never looked at Remus was what he needed.

His eyes drifted to the Best Man, who was watching him. They shared a shy smile, leaving Remus wondering something.

Maybe spending time with Sirius and realising he was ready for something romantic in his life was what helped him.

Or maybe it was just because it was Sirius. The one person he could always count on.

...oOo...

"You seem happier?"

"I feel it," Remus said as Sirius attempted to pull Remus to the dance floor. He held his ground, not wanting to look silly.

"Why? What's changed?"

"A few things. The way James looks at Lily. He never looked at me like that. I can see the love between them, though he never loved me as much as I loved him. I know that sounds a bit depressing, but it helps me to know this. I have visual proof that he's moved on and I didn't feel hurt or betrayed or angry. I felt like this was the natural course of events. I felt like this is James' path in life."

Sirius smiled. "And what about yours?"

"Mine… well, I think spending this time with you shows me that I might be open to a new romance," Remus admitted. "What me and James had was amazing, but it doesn't mean I can't find something else that's just as good… or better."

"Remus, you're dancing with me," Sirius insisted. "Even if I have to carry you over to the dance floor."

Remus' eyes narrowed. "Fine. But I'm not dancing for long."

Sirius took his hand and smugly led the way to the dance floor just as a slow song came on. He stopped near the middle, turning and pulling Remus closer than ever before. The mask had slipped from Sirius' face and he looked scared. His forehead rested against Remus' and he shut his eyes and wrapped his arms around Remus' waist.

Remus watched as he composed himself, hiding the emotions that had appeared on his face for that brief moment.

Unable to look at Sirius any longer—because he needed to process his thoughts and feelings about the situation—Remus leaned forward, resting his head on Sirius' shoulder, and they began to dance slowly, wrapped up in each other.

His thoughts not drifting to James, Remus could finally consider what it would be like to always be in Sirius' arms. Though he was scared. What if Sirius left him too?

When the song ended, he pulled away, letting out a sigh. "Sirius, we should talk."

Sirius stepped back at the tone in Remus' voice. "I don't think we need to talk about anything," he said, crossing his arms.

"I don't think—"

"Alright guys? Sirius, mind if I steal your date for a bit?" Before Sirius could answer, James had grabbed Remus' arm and led him outside.

...oOo...

"Cigarette?" James asked, holding out the packet.

Remus took one, allowing James to light it. He wasn't really a smoker, but sometimes he needed one to calm his nerves. "Why did you bring me out here?"

James took a long pull from the cigarette. "After all these years of friendship with the both of you, I know when you're lying to me," he said softly. "I know you weren't trying to make me jealous so was it pride?"

Remus sighed. "I didn't want you to feel sorry for me. I wanted you to see I had been able to move on too."

"But you hadn't. Well, you have now. Something has changed?"

"I saw how you look at Lily. The love in your eyes. We never had that, James. I think realising you were so serious about someone that you'd marry them… well, it made me realise a few things. It made me realise that I can and want to move on with my life."

"And why did you pull away from Sirius during the dancing?"

Remus hesitated, focusing on the smoke from his lips. "What if he doesn't feel the same? What if he leaves me too? I almost lost you completely, James. Things have been tough. So what if it happens again?"

"I'm sorry," James whispered. "I think maybe it's time I told you the truth."

"The truth?"

"Of why I left you. Sirius… Sirius is going to hate me, but I can't keep this inside. This is the reason you're so hurt. This is why I broke your heart." James watched Remus carefully. "But this might make you realise why Sirius would never leave you."

Remus nodded. He had never really understood where he had gone wrong with James. Part of him didn't want to know, but the other part wanted desperately to understand why Sirius would never leave him.

"Sirius has been in love with you for years," James said, turning his head away. "I think before me and you started dating. Thinking back, I believe it was throughout high-school too. Did you ever notice that when me and you were together, Sirius started to be more and more busy? Did you notice that he never had time for us?"

"Yeah, but he had that new job and—"

"And there was no job," James interrupted. "I went to his flat to pick something up and found him there. He was depressed. We were so caught up in each other, we failed to see that Sirius was suffering from a broken heart. He was pulling away from the both of us because he couldn't bear to see us together. It was hurting him too much."

James paused, bringing the cigarette to his lips once more. "We did a lot of talking and that's when I realised that he has been in love with you since school. Remus. I had two choices that day."

"Two?"

"The first was to stay with you. I cared for you deeply and knew I could easily fall in love with you. That we'd get married and be happy. But in doing so, we'd lose Sirius."

"And the second?"

"To give you up. To just be your friend. I knew it would hurt you, I knew I'd be breaking your heart… but I knew one day we could get our friendship back. That we'd still have Sirius. I knew it would hurt you to lose him. You two have always been so close. I had a tough call to make, but in the end, I couldn't let us lose Sirius."

"I would have done the same," Remus admitted, processing the explanation. He didn't doubt James in the slightest. "Thank you for telling me the truth."

"Well, I should have done it a lot sooner," James replied. "Sirius begged me not to tell you how he felt about you and I couldn't explain without doing so. I saw something had really honestly changed between you on that dance-floor. I had to step in before Sirius got hurt again."

"I would never hurt him," Remus insisted.

"Remus, I broke your heart on purpose for Sirius," James said. "But you unknowingly broke his. If he's willing to take that chance with you, knowing how much it could hurt him… if he could pretend to be your boyfriend knowing it was fake, though it would be painful, why can't you take that chance?"

"What if he tires of me? What if he gets sick of me too?"

"How do you feel about him?" James pushed.

"I care for him more than I've cared for anyone. I think… I think back when we were together… if I had to choose, I think there's a big chance that I would have chosen Sirius over you. I'm not in love with Sirius, but I have feelings that weren't there a few weeks ago. I think if I opened myself up to him, I could easily fall in love with Sirius."

"Then open yourself up to him," James insisted. "When I gave you up, I hoped one day you and Sirius would bring each other the same happiness you brought to me. I realised when we were over, how perfect you and Sirius were for each other. Giving you up was the hardest choice I've ever made. Giving Sirius a chance might be your hard choice, but trust me: Sirius would never give you up. Not for me, not for anyone."

"I'll give him a chance," Remus murmured.

James reached out, hugging Remus with one arm whilst trying to keep the cigarette away from his suit at the same time. "Take care of each other. When the honeymoon is over, we're all going for drinks. Me and you are back to normal and there's no more avoidance."

Remus grinned, feeling at ease with his ex. "Drinks sound great. But if you knew the truth, why did you say you were happy for us?"

James returned the grin. "Because I needed you both to know that I accept the relationship, fake or real. It's in the code, isn't it. You're my ex and Sirius is my best friend and like a brother to me. He wanted my approval for you dating, though even if I had a problem, he'd still have dated you. You mean too much to him."

….oOo...

Remus looked at the lump on the sofa. "Sirius, will you come to bed with me."

There was no answer. Remus didn't expect one. Sirius probably thought he wanted to talk and end things.

"We still need to talk, but James made some things clear to me—"

"I'd rather not hear about you and James," Sirius muttered.

"You want to hear this. James told me everything. He told me why he left me, Sirius. He told me you were in love with me."

"Why the fuck would he do that?" Sirius asked, quickly getting up from the sofa.

"James said that he left me because your heart was broken and he couldn't do that. Now I know the truth, I understand why he did it. Had it been the other way around, I would have broken it off. It wasn't worth losing you. Sirius, I'm seeing you in this whole new light and I'm terrified. You've loved me for years and I'm not at the love stage yet, though I care so deeply for you that I sometimes scare myself with how intense it feels. The kissing, the cuddling have been perfect and I feel overwhelmed, but at the same time I want it to never stop. I don't want to get hurt, but James made me realise that I have to take that risk or I could lose out on something amazing with you."

Sirius stepped closer. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I want to be with you if you'll accept me."

"I don't care if you don't love me. Just let me love you!" Sirius whispered.

"Sirius, I know if I let myself, I'd fall in love with you so easily."

"Then let yourself. I'm not going anywhere," Sirius insisted. "I've been yours for years, Remus. I'd do anything for you. I've always seen my future with you at my side. Though I didn't dare dream that we could be together. You're my future and I know I should stop before I make you uncomfortable, but—but when James chose me over you, I couldn't understand it. He had you. You, Remus Lupin, completely in love with him and for some reason he chose me. James may be like a brother to me, but if that had been me choosing between being with you and a friendship with James, I don't think I could have done what he did. I don't believe I would have had the power to give you up like that."

Remus pressed against Sirius as he kissed him. They had spent too much time talking. There was only one thing left to say.

"Bed?"

"Fuck yes," Sirius said, his fingers already pushing the suit jacket from Remus' shoulders.

...oOo...

Remus paced the living room of his flat as he waited for Sirius to turn up. Sirius was a few minutes late and with each few steps across the room, Remus was becoming more and more anxious.

Finally the door opened and Sirius came in. "Remus! I'm so sorry, I was stuck in traffic."

"It's okay," Remus said. "I just really need to talk to you, Sirius. I just—"

"Remus, what's wrong?" Sirius asked, reaching out and grabbing Remus, steadying him.

"I just have something to say to you." He pressed against Sirius, clutching him tightly. "Sirius, I love you."

There was a sharp intake of breath. "You… you love me?"

"I do," Remus murmured. "I love you and I was going to ask if you wanted to move in with me."

There was a brief moment where Remus thought Sirius would refuse him, before:

"I love you too! How soon can I bring my stuff over?"

Remus grinned, relieved at the answer. "Well, I did put a new bed together today since we broke my last one. If you're moving in, it makes it _our_ bed. Would you like to go and get a feel for it."

Sirius nodded his head eagerly. "I like the sound of that. Our flat. Our bed. Us waking up together every morning and falling asleep together every night."

"Us confessing our love," Remus murmured, causing Sirius' smile to soften.

"Something I will never get tired of hearing."

* * *

 **Review Please :)**


	10. BartyRegulus and Wolfstar for Sophie

Written for Sophie.

Regulus/Barty - Psychological!AU

* * *

Thanks to Shannon for the idea to use Stockholm Syndrome.

I tried to focus as much on Regulus/Barty as possible here.

Also I tried to write something a bit darker here with unstable characters.

 **Warnings** : No rape or torture or anything. Just imprisonment, drugging and kidnapping, and Stockholm Syndrome...

* * *

 **Stockholm Syndrome**

* * *

"You don't watch football do you?" Barty asked, as his eyes darted over the spines on the books, pulling out all of the sci-fi ones.

"No, sorry," Remus replied as Barty handed him the few books he had removed from the trolley. "I've never been that into sports. Why?"

"Oh. I was just wondering if you wanted to catch the game with me," Barty said with a slight shrug as he followed Remus to the other side of the library and watched Remus start to put the books away. "I usually watch it alone, but thought you might be free. I didn't take you for a sporty guy, but thought it'd be great to hang out."

Remus' smile widened. "In that case, it sounds like fun. When are you thinking?"

"Tomorrow night? Come by my place at around six. I'll get in some beer and pizza."

...oOo...

"Do you want another beer?" Barty offered, holding a can up. Remus tried to shake his head, but the room was spinning. He had only drunk a single beer so far, and wasn't a lightweight. He couldn't understand what was happening.

"B..." he began, struggling to form the words.

"Remus. Look, just lay down, okay? I think something is wrong. Just lay down and I'll call for help. Remus, just..."

Darkness overtook him, the sound of Barty's voice fading.

...oOo...

"Happy birthday," Regulus said, pulling Sirius up the hallway.

"What are we doing down here?" Sirius muttered, unimpressed. "We haven't been down here since we had to train Barty."

"And you did such a good job," Regulus said proudly. "So well that he came up with this idea himself."

"What idea?" Sirius Black asked curiously. "You know I don't have much time. I have that business transaction..."

"Which I will deal with," Regulus finished. "Let me take over running our empire. The drugs won't distribute themselves... and you—you enjoy your birthday." With that, he pushed Sirius in front of the two-way mirror.

Sirius froze at the sight of the unconscious form on the bed. "What is this?" he whispered. "He's... beautiful."

"Smart, still a virgin as Barty found out whilst working at the Library," Regulus murmured. "He could be all yours... completely untouched."

"How long do you think it'd take to convince him to be one of us?"

"He's tougher than he looks," Barty said, walking over. "Break him first, like Regulus did me. When I was broken, I could truly see what Regulus had to offer. His undying love and devotion. Look at James and Lily. She despised him at first. When she finally gave up and agreed to be his, she gave everything up for him. The moment I saw him, I knew he was for you. You do want to keep him, right? I could bring him home before he wakes up..."

"No," Sirius snapped. "I'm keeping him. I don't want to hurt him though, how can I break him and make him believe that he needs me above anything else?"

"He has no friends and family," Regulus said, staring through the mirror. "He's all alone. I think this will be easy. You go in there with him and pretend to be another prisoner. When he's so reliant on you, you tell him the truth."

"And then he can come out of the room and he'll be yours," Barty added, wrapping his arm around Regulus. "I recognise the need within him. It's the same need that devoured Lily, which caused James to take her and lock her away until she became his. It's the same need that she saw in me a year ago, before you stole me away, Sirius. He has that need to be loved. If you do this right, he'll overlook the kidnap and imprisonment."

Sirius grinned, his eyes never leaving the man. "Regulus," he said, pulling out a notebook, "my current contacts. Keep this safe. You know the drill. When my love needs something, you don't get it. When I ask, I expect it. No matter what time, day or night. I need him to learn that if he wants something, he'll have to ask me."

"I can't wait for him to be one of us," Barty said excitedly. "In fact, in all this excitement..." he bit his lip, looking at Regulus through his long lashes.

"Sirius, just get in there. I'll have Alice take the first lookout," Regulus said, pulling the door open. Sirius walked through and Regulus shut the door, quickly locking it. He allowed Barty to pull him away and lead him to their bedroom.

...oOo...

Sirius dropped down onto the end of the bed by his future-lover's feet and he waited. The man was beautiful and was going to be his. He couldn't wait to get to know everything about him. He couldn't wait to get his trust, his loyalty and his devotion.

And a space in his bed, but that could wait until he had everything else.

But for now, he'd sit still and stay quiet and wait for his soulmate to wake up. He didn't have long and would have to quickly think of a story to tell. Plus, sitting there meant he had a wonderful view.

Sirius knew he was already in love.

...oOo...

 _"Where am I? Someone... someone help me!" Barty pounded on the heavy iron door, but only succeeded in hurting his hand. "Let me out. Whatever you want, I'll give you. My father... he had money. Just—"_

 _He paused, the sound of the lock clicking back. "Move away from the door or it won't be opened."_

 _Barty didn't move._

 _"I mean it."_

 _"I have moved away," Barty said, standing close to the door, ready to knock out whoever opened it._

 _There was a long silence and Barty listened desperately trying to work out what was happening. Finally he heard the lock click shut. "It's a pity," the man said. "I was hoping today was the day for us to meet. I wanted to see you face to face, my love."_

 _"Your love?"_

 _"Yes. Don't you worry. One day you'll love me too and you'll be devoted to me. When that day comes, you'll be allowed out of your cell."_

 _"That day will never come," Barty spat. "I'd never devote myself to someone who has kidnapped me."_

 _There was a chuckle. "I didn't kidnap you. You were a gift from my brother and Lily."_

 _"Lily? Lily... she caused this?" Barty asked, shocked. The girl had quickly become his best friend, though he wasn't usually allowed to befriend the staff his father hired. He couldn't believe she was involved. Though, she had been the one preparing his dinner._

 _"You're my gift," the man repeated. "Though I don't know how I'll get something just as wonderful for my brother."_

* * *

Review Please :)


	11. SiriusRemus for Shannon

For Shannon

Hogwarts - Assignment 3 - History of Magic - **Task:** Since Artemisia was the first female Minister for Magic, I would like you to write for one of the following firsts: First time making a 'real' friend. (Word) Change (or a variation of it)

* * *

This is loosely based on a tumblr prompt I found ages ago and vaguely remember.

* * *

A Choice

* * *

The first time Sirius had met his imaginary friend, he had been three and a half and throwing a tantrum. He was upset that his mother was smiling at his baby brother. It was odd to see his mother smiling: it unnerved him, and what was worse was that his brother had done something that warranted a smile, yet Sirius' elaborate dance routine (that involved jumping on the sofa) was rewards with a punishment.

The tantrum had landed him in his room, the door not budging as he tried to open it, screaming his lungs out. His chest and throat hurt and he kicked the door, again and again. He couldn't even hear the usual echo of the sound in the hallway outside of the room.

"You hurting yourself," came a voice barely louder than a whisper.

He almost fell down in shock. He knew the room had been empty, yet there was a boy there, watching him. The boy talked with a slight lisp which fascinated Sirius enough to make him forget that he was throwing a tantrum. He didn't even attempt to correct the boy's speech as his parents would usually do.

Sirius took one look at the soft smile on the boy's face and almost fell into his arms, accepting the hug he somehow knew the other boy would give him. He stopped caring where the boy had come from. There had been something about the voice that comforted him.

...oOo…

It wasn't often the stranger appeared, and Sirius found that he couldn't be wary of this boy. It just felt like he was supposed to be there, always. Sirius felt he could trust him.

After all, he always turned up when Sirius was hurt or sad or lonely. The boy had welcoming arms and didn't laugh if Sirius needed to bury his face in the boy's shirt and cry as hands rubbed his back.

...oOo...

"What's your name?" Sirius whispered one night, after giving up banging on the basement door. He didn't need to turn around to know that someone would be sitting on the bed in the corner.

Even if he did turn, he wouldn't be able to see anyone anyway.

"My name?" came the voice through the darkness and Sirius followed it, stumbling over unknown items in his pursuit of the bed and the boy.

"Yes. Everyone has a name," Sirius insisted. "My name is Sirius. I looked the name up in my books and it's the name of a star. Is your name in a book too?"

"I… I don't think I have a name?" the boy began, looking at Sirius hopefully. "I would like one."

Sirius made out his shape in the dark and shifted closer, dropping down on the bed next to the boy. "Names are important, Mother tells me all of the time that our name is the most important. So we need to pick a good name."

"How will we do that?"

"Well, I'm named after the dog star and my favourite animal is a dog," Sirius began. "Which means that we should name you after your favourite animal."

"That makes sense," his friend admitted. "I like… wolves I think."

"So we need a wolf name…" Sirus murmured. He lay down on the bed, his hands behind his head as he thought about a name.

The pair lay in silence side by side, both deep in thought. Sirius fell asleep first.

When he woke up, his friend was gone and the door was still locked.

...oOo…

Sirius had grown so used to having his friend over, he didn't think twice about talking to him in front of his little brother. Regulus didn't find anything strange or unusual about this, but Sirius made the mistake of talking to him when his mother walked into the room.

He didn't understand why the Witch was furious or why he was punished. As he clung to his friend afterwards, he kept in his mind that his mother couldn't see his friend, and that any mention of a friend she couldn't see would anger his mother. His friend was not to be mentioned, ever.

A warning which he passed over to Regulus.

...oOo…

"I'm here to say goodbye."

Sirius turned from where he had closed the door, his eyes fixed intently on his friend, sprawled out on his bed and taking up more room than he had back when they were just children. "I don't understand," he murmured. "What's going on? Where are you going? You'll be back soon… right?"

He slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's your birthday tomorrow."

"And?" Sirius asked. "I was planning on spending it in here with you."

A smile flickered on his friend's face briefly.

"Have you never researched this?" his friend asked. "Tonight is the end, Sirius. Once you gain your magic at midnight, you lose me."

"But there must be a way," Sirius said, terrified at the idea of losing his only friend.

"You need to chose between me and your magic. Sirius, choosing me will make you a squib." Fingers caressed his face gently. "Thank you."

"I've done nothing," Sirius whispered.

"You see me by your side when you've needed me, but you've been by mine too when I needed you. I'll miss you."

Before Sirius could say anything, his friend disappeared.

...oOo…

Sirius pushed his way into his brother's room, looking around.

"Sirius, you should be sleeping. Mother and father—"

"Is your friend here? Can you call him? I need his help."

"I don't have a friend."

"You do. Don't you remember: I was the one who told you never to talk to him or about him when it comes to Mother and Father. My friend said goodbye today and said that I'd have to make a choice. I don't know how to choose him. I need your friend to help me, Regulus. Please."

Regulus glanced over at the bed, his eyebrows raised. Sirius looked hopefully over, only to see an empty bed. It took a moment, but Regulus turned back and let out a sigh. "You have to make a choice. You have to tell yourself what your choice is. Sirius, really think about this. If you choose your friend, you'll turn into a squib. Mother and Father will make you leave."

...oOo…

Sirius could feel his father's eyes on the window during breakfast, waiting for his owl to appear, offering him his place to Hogwarts. After the arrival, he suspected would be a lesson over the four houses, again, followed by his father's usual speech about how he was heir and he had a name to live up to.

Sirius watched in fear as two owls appeared, neither holding the letter.

"Sirius," Orion began, pushing his chair from the table. "Pack your things. Anything magical must stay here."

"But he needs to be punished for—"

"I believe his magical status is punishment enough," Orion snapped, effectively silencing his wife. "You have an hour."

...oOo…

Sirius sat in the quiet office at the Ministry, watching a woman behind a desk write on a scroll. His father had spoken to the woman for a few minutes, before leaving. Sirius had been told to wait to be picked up by someone.

"Excuse me," he began softly, tired of sitting there without even a book to read. If only his friend was around, he wouldn't feel so alone, but there had been no-one all day and Sirius was beginning to wonder if his friend was ever coming back.

"Mr Black, we've contacted the next foster family for squibs on our list," the woman said, looking up from the parchment. "There are many magical families that have registered for taking in squibs or even squibs that are willing to take in more. A family will be here any minute now."

Sirius nodded silently, his gaze beginning to move around the room again, before the door opened.

"I'm here to foster," the man said, walking straight to the woman.

"Mr. Lupin, thank you for coming in," the woman said, smiling at him. "Just sign here and Sirius will be able to go home with you."

...oOo…

"I wasn't born a squib," Sirius said, taking Lyall's arm. "I chose it."

"You chose it? You chose your friend over your magic?" Lyall asked, grabbing Sirius' wrist and apparating them away.

Sirius nodded as they appeared a short distance from a small cottage.. "I don't know where he is though," he admitted. "He's my best… only friend and I can't imagine life without him."

"I don't remember mine," Lyall admitted. "But I chose my magic. The stories all say that you forget your friend if you don't chose them."

"Stories? I didn't have time to look," Sirius said, giving Lyall his full attention. "How do I get my friend back?"

"Your friend is a manifestation of another individual throughout the world," Lyall explained. "You're seeing someone that exists in the world already, which means you'll have to find them again."

"But what if they choose magic over me?"

Lyall smiled and shook his head. "Then you'd still have your magic," he explained. "It's your birthday today which means that you had to make your choice. Your friend would be given the same choice at the same time, even if they are younger than you. If they were older, you'd have had to make the choice on their birthday instead."

Sirius turned towards the cottage, clutching his belongings to his chest.

"Hope, Remus, this is Sirius Bl… Sirius. He'll be staying with us. He found out today that he's a squib."

"I chose to become a squib today," Sirius corrected him, walking towards the cottage at Lyall's side. "It's a change I had to make so I could keep my friend. Hello Mrs Lupin. Thank you for taking me in. It's nice to meet…" he trailed off as he looked at the boy next to the woman.

"You?" Remus whispered, stepping forward slightly.

"You! It's you!" Sirius exclaimed, rushing forward. "You didn't even say goodbye properly, you just disappeared thinking I'd choose magic over you. Why would you do that? If you stuck around, I'd have told you... I was scared I wouldn't see you again!"

Once Sirius was close enough, Remus threw his arms around Sirius. "You—the version of you that was my friend—told me that you would make your choice last night and that I'd need to make mine too. I was scared I'd have to wait until March to find out if you chose me - because I knew without a doubt that I was choosing you." Sirius' arms wrapped tightly around him and the two boys clung to each other.

Finally the hug loosened, but they only took a small step away from each other. "Come on inside, I'll show you to the bedroom. You'll be sharing with me, if that's okay?"

"It's better than okay!" Sirius insisted. "I've been wondering since I was four when I'd get to see your room. It'll be like a sleepover. I've never been to a sleepover before. I read a book once where children had midnight snacks... could we do that? I need somewhere to put my picture of my brother too... if that's okay? I don't really have much else. Mother didn't want to waste nice wizards clothes for me since I'm not a wizard anymore. Father... was a little kinder." Remus grabbed Sirius' arm, bringing him inside with Sirius still talking.

"That went well," Hope said, smiling. "At least we know Remus is happy to have him here."

"If things work out, we'll talk about adoption, but I don't think either of them will let Sirius leave. Based on that, it's clear that they were each other's friends growing up," Lyall said. "Do you want to be the one to tell our son that only soulmates choose each other and not friends?"

Hope's eyes widened slightly. "I wasn't aware of that," she said. "But maybe let the boys figure it out for themselves?"

* * *

 **Review please :)**


	12. HarryNeville for Caitlin

**Written for:** Caitlin (hpjkrowling4ever) for the Hogwarts Secret Santa

CHARACTER/PAIRINGS: Harry/Neville THEMES: Christmas fluff, Romance, Anything that is happy really, Anything family-based OPTIONAL PROMPTS: (colour) gold, (season) winter or autumn

 **Also written for** : Hamilton - A challenge. Act 1 - [character] Harry Potter

* * *

 **Under the Nargles**

Sorry this is a few days late!

* * *

Clutching a plant he had spent almost a year growing, Neville walked through the hospital with the same swirl of emotions the building always brought to him. Excitement at seeing his parents and despair at the condition they were in. Though it wasn't enough to keep him away.

Gone were the days when his gran brought him, now he made the trip by himself, able to come more often than he used to when he was growing up. Since her passing a few years before, he didn't have to stay home to look after her.

He reached the ward and balanced the plant in one arm as he pushed the door open. He smiled tiredly at the medi-witches as he passed, knowing certain ones by sight now, and headed towards the private section of the ward, at the back.

The least he could do is pay for his parents to be as comfortable as possible. What else did he need his wages from Hogwarts for? After all, he had a home, he worked and lived at Hogwarts for most of the time… and he had his inheritance from both his gran and his parents.

As he reached the door, at the end of the ward, he froze, staring at the scene. A man he had met a few times, but didn't quite know, was sitting in a chair by his mum's bed, chatting away. She appeared to be listening, but the slightly blank, confused expression remained.

Neville stood there for a few minutes, just watching the scene. He had never seen anyone else visit his parents. Though some friends of theirs remained, the state the Longbottoms were in left people uncomfortable and awkward, and people would make excuses to themselves as to why they wouldn't go.

Neville didn't blame them. They most likely saw Alice and Frank as shells of people that existed a long time ago, and wanted to retain the memories they had before. With the wars and how the world had changed, there was no room inside of him for anger towards those.

"Excuse me, I'm… oh, Neville. How are you?"

"Prof—Mr. Lupin," Neville said, his eyes widening as he turned. "What are you doing here?"

Remus smiled as Neville stepped aside, and the pair made their way over to the beds. At their approach, Sirius turned, smiling at the both of them. "I swear she's just itching to smack me around the head like she used to," he said, taking one of the drinks from Remus' hand.

"Like she used to?" Neville repeated, frowning slightly. "Mr Black, why are you here?"

"To see Alice of course," he said. "You are aware you can call us Sirius and Remus, right?"

Neville nodded. They had told him a few times, yet he still struggled to remember. He was so used to thinking of Remus as Professor Lupin, after all.

"Back in Hogwarts, your mum was my best friend," Sirius admitted, glancing fondly at the woman who was searching for something by her bed. "Well, apart from the boys. She was the one I went to when I had boy trouble. We actually dated at one point."

Neville sunk into a chair. "You dated my mum?"

"I took her to the Yule Ball in our fifth year. We snogged too and she was the one who told me I shouldn't be kissing all of the girls when it's clear that my interests laid elsewhere. I was very much in denial back then."

"All I remember is Alice and Sirius having 'girl-time' and whispering to each other."

"We had this master plan on how to get their attention. It completely failed. We made fools of ourselves. Remus just laughed at me, but Frank was a gentleman. He helped Alice up from the mud and was all concerned that she had hurt herself and her acting was impressive. She limped all the way inside and he ended up carrying her to the common room and looking after her. He even read to her."

Neville listened to the story in amazement. He had never been told how his parents had gotten together and thought he'd never know.

"So, you must have so many stories about them?"

"I do," Sirius murmured, looking towards Alice as she shuffled over, the usual wrapper in her hand. It was quickly passed to Neville, who stood up and placed a kiss on his mother's cheek.

"Thanks, Mum."

Remus let out a cough and Sirius got up from his chair. "I'm going to get another drink," he said. "Come and see us in the cafe downstairs before you go."

"I will," Neville said, glad that the pair had decided to leave rather than him having to ask them to go. As much as he liked that his parents had visitors, he wanted to talk to them, just the three of them.

"I'll see you soon, Love," Sirius said, placing a kiss to Alice's cheek, before turning to Frank. He grasped Frank's hand briefly and gave him a smile before the pair left.

...oOo...

After an hour of sitting with his parents and explaining to the Medi-Witch about how to care for the plant, Neville headed down to the cafe. Part of him thought that Sirius and Remus would have gone by now, so he was surprised to see them sitting at a table in the corner, holding hands.

Oh. He hadn't expected that.

He thought back to Sirius' words about his mother saying not to kiss all of the girls, that he had other interests and that Sirius was in denial. Neville had assumed that Sirius was caught up over another girl or something. The story made more sense how Sirius had specifically mentioned Remus' reaction too.

"You two are together?" The words fell from his lips before he could think about them.

The pair looked away from each other, and he got the impression Remus was attempting to pull his hand away, but Sirius held tightly. "We are," he replied.

"Okay," Neville said, pulling out a chair and taking a seat.

"I'm glad it doesn't bother you," Sirius said, smiling. "Some people can be fu—"

"Can be rude," Remus interrupted quickly.

"Oh. It's… I get it. I mean, I've been..." Neville trailed off, not wanting to make his confession in front of his friend's godfather (and his mother's best friend) and his former professor. Instead he fixed his gaze on the table, willing the blush to fade from his cheeks. He tried hard not to think about the man's godson who he had shared a room with at Hogwarts.

He missed the way Sirius' face lit up and how his eyes darted to Remus.

He also missed Remus shooting Sirius a warning look whilst shaking his head and mouthing 'no' at him.

"Neville, we were under the impression that you were spending Christmas at Hogwarts," Remus began, attempting to change the subject.

"I planned to. I was going to head back later…" Neville began, looking up from the table again.

"Well it's settled, you'll spend Christmas at ours," Sirius decided. "Harry will be glad to have the company of someone his own age."

"You don't have to—"

"It's no problem," Sirius insisted. "Alice would kill me if I didn't invite you, plus you're a friend of Harry's and, as much as Christmas at Hogwarts is fun—and we both loved Christmas there—you should have somewhere else to go. Now, I'll get Harry to pick you up around nine tomorrow morning."

Neville could only nod, his mind racing through what plants he could offer in way of gifts. He had already left a valuable plant in his parents room, one that soothes the mind, hoping it would help them even the slightest. There were very few that he had finished tending to and raising. Though he was sure he'd find something.

...oOo...

"Neville? Where are you? This place is massive!"

Neville rolled over in his bed, pulling the covers tighter around him, enjoying the warmth. It wasn't often he dreamt of Harry, so he planned to go back to sleep and allow the dream to take over.

"Neville?"

He wasn't aware of the voice calling his name, quickly drifting back to sleep.

After a few seconds—though he had been asleep and it could have been minutes—Neville heard a knock at his bedroom door.

"Neville? Are you in here?"

Neville let go of the pillow he was snuggling and rolled over, frowning at the closed door. "Harry?"

"Finally! I've been here for fifteen minutes. I think I got lost at one point. Are you ready to go?"

"Go?" Neville mumbled sleepily. "But… it's only eight?"

"Yeah. Sirius said to come and get you at eight," Harry said. "I can come back—"

"It's fine. I thought he said nine, I must be mistaken," Neville said, throwing off the lovely, warm covers and climbing from the bed. "Turn left and take the second staircase and you'll be at the kitchen. Make yourself a drink whilst you're waiting."

"Right. I'll see you in a minute."

Neville stumbled towards the bathroom for a quick shower, cursing Sirius under his breath. He could have sworn Sirius said nine and Neville didn't want Harry to see him all disheveled and unwashed.

Harry had seen him in the mornings growing up and Neville wanted to present a different picture to Harry; he wanted to look good.

 _Even if Harry was into women. Even if Harry was dating Ginny._

Even if Harry would never look at him the same way he looked at Harry.

...oOo...

It didn't take long to get ready as Neville found himself eager to get to Harry. He didn't want the other wizard to be waiting around long.

The moment he stepped into the kitchen, he found Harry leaning against the counter, a mug of tea in his hand. He pushed the other slightly towards Neville and smiled widely.

"I've yet to figure out Sirius' motives over giving me the wrong time," he said, his eyes moving down Neville's body for a second, before looking back at his eyes.

Neville grinned. "Does he do this sort of thing often?" he asked, taking the cup of still-hot tea from the counter and bringing it to his lips, whilst internally panicking that Harry didn't like his choice of jumper.

"Not at all," Harry replied. "Though he's been overly excited about something. Remus keeps trying to get him to behave."

"It must be strange living with them like that…"

"What? As a couple?" Harry asked.

"I guess," Neville answered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I meant that you've only known Sirius for a few years, and Remus used to be your professor. I never even considered a professor having a life outside of Hogwarts, you know. Well, not until I became one myself."

Harry chuckled. "They can be a handful, especially with Teddy thrown into the mix, but I've never met two people more right for each other than Sirius and Remus. If you see them together, you'll understand. Plus, Teddy adores Sirius."

"They looked happy when I saw them," Neville commented. "That's what matters."

"It is," Harry agreed softly. "Drink up, Neville. They're waiting on us."

Neville nodded, bringing the cup to his lips. The tea tasted perfect. Just the right strength, with the right amount of milk and sugar. He peeked over the cup, meeting Harry's gaze. He never realised before that Harry paid enough attention to notice this.

...oOo...

"Uncle Harry! I missed you!"

A small boy almost ran into Neville's legs in an attempt to get to Harry, who had come in behind him.

Harry laughed, reaching down for the child holding his legs and picking him up. "I haven't been gone for that long Teddy," he replied, beaming at the small boy. "Are you sure you've missed me and you're not just waiting to open your presents?"

Neville could only stare as the boy's dark blond hair darkened and shortened and began to resemble Harry's own hair. The boy smiled cheekily, squirming as Harry's fingers began to tickle his side, and he threw himself backwards.

With a quick grab, Harry had the boy upside down and Teddy squealed, his arms swinging, searching for something to grab hold of, but finding nothing.

After another minute of playing, Harry put Teddy down and the boy quickly ran away. Harry grinned at Neville and gestured for Neville to follow Teddy.

Neville did, heading into the nearby room and freezing at the sight of the giant Christmas tree. It was bigger than any he had ever seen indoors _excluding Hogwarts of course_ , and very tall. Neville briefly wondered what charm they had used to allow the room to hold such a large tree, but before he could ask, Teddy was pulling at his trousers.

"Are those for me?" he asked, gesturing to the gift bags Neville had brought with him.

Neville glanced down at the small boy.

"Teddy, what have I told you about manners?" Remus said firmly, causing the boy's smile to fade. "What do you say?"

"Sorry," Teddy murmured. He took a step away, his eyes not leaving the bags.

"Where should I…" Neville asked, glancing at Harry and holding the bags out. Harry took them and set them under the tree.

"Can I open presents?" Teddy asked eagerly, quickly forgetting Remus' comment about his manners.

"Patience, Teddy," Sirius said, walking into the room. "You've only just got here? Great! We can get started."

"You were waiting for me?" Neville asked, frowning. "You could have started without me. I expected you to."

"Of course we waited," Sirius insisted. "Grab a seat and we'll get on with it, shall we?"

"Me first!" Teddy demanded, unable to keep still in his excitement. He ran over to Sirius as Sirius reached for one of the gifts under the tree and shook on the spot, his eyes focused on the present.

"Sorry, Teddy, this one is for Harry," Sirius said as Harry took a seat on the floor next to Remus and Neville followed suit. Sirius grinned at Teddy's pout. "Don't you worry, Santa brought you a few things. You'll just have to wait your turn."

The foot-stamp was ignored and Sirius passed the gift to Harry. "From Hermione."

Harry let out an amused laugh. "This doesn't feel like a book," he murmured, ripping into the paper. He tossed it aside and opened the small box. His eyes widened. "Tickets to the theatre."

"Theatre?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah. I… well, when I was younger, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were always taking Dudley to shows and I always wanted to go," Harry said. "I had a few drinks a couple of months ago and think I told Hermione about it. Clearly she thought it was time I took in one of the shows."

"What tickets did you get?" Remus asked.

"The Lion King," Harry replied, the smile widening. "It'll be fun, I just need to find someone to bring."

"Aren't you bringing Ginny?" Neville asked.

Harry turned his attention to Neville. "I'm not with Ginny anymore," he said. "We… it didn't work out."

"Why not?" Neville's eyes widened. "Sorry, you don't have to tell me, of course. I don't mean to…"

"It's fine," Harry said, smiling warmly at him. "I'll explain later if that's okay?" He glanced in Teddy's direction where the boy was shifting closer and closer to the presents.

Neville nodded his head. Presents first, Harry's love-life details second. He could wait to hear about how Harry was single and unattached.

 _And straight_. Neville forced himself to remember that very important detail—reason—why he had to be careful and not let Harry know that he felt more than friendship towards him.

...oOo...

Neville noticed that the presents handed out were the ones from people who weren't in the room. The gifts were from friends who had their own families to spend Christmas with, and from Andromeda who was celebrating with Narcissa and Draco in Paris, and wouldn't be returning until the next day. Harry had mentioned something about how Andromeda and Narcissa had made up after the war and were still in the process of mending their sisterly bond, but were getting there.

After a few presents had been handed out and Remus took a box of chocolates away from Teddy, much to his annoyance, Neville heard Sirius say his name.

"It's from me. It's not much, but I thought you'd want to have this."

Neville accepted the small parcel, quickly saying that he hadn't expected anything, and began pulling at the wrapping paper. He found himself looking at a small pink notebook with colourful sequins stuck all over it in the shape of a butterfly. As he touched the butterfly, it began to move its wings.

"What—"

"It was in with my school supplies. I was looking for something else, seeing if I had an old photo or something, when I came upon this. It was a notebook me and your mum used to send messages to each other. We'd write and pass it back and forth. There's some things about my feelings for Remus in there, but there's a lot about Alice's feelings for Frank and I thought you might like it. We started it just after we realised we were just friends and she turned her attentions to Frank and I admitted to myself how I felt about Remus, so a lot of sappy stuff."

Neville stared at the book for a moment longer. His grandmother never had anything personal of his parents. A few letters and such written, and a letter they wrote him in case they died, which he was given when he was fourteen (instead of the seventeen that his gran had originally decided). But this notebook was something he had always wanted. To hear the silly little stories that gran wasn't able to tell him.

"Thank you," he whispered, meeting Sirius' gaze and smiling.

Sirius nodded. "If I find anything else, I'll give you it," he promised before turning back to the tree and pulling out another present. "This is for… me, from Harry."

Sirius eagerly pulled the paper from the present and let out a loud laugh. "A dog collar?"

"I thought if you didn't find a use for it, Remus would suggest one," Harry sniggered.

"I'm sure we'll find a use for it," Sirius said, shooting Remus a look that Neville could only describe as lustful, before turning back to the pile and pushing the present out of reach of Teddy's curious hands.

Remus was passed a present and no-one was surprised to find it was a large box of chocolates. He grinned and added it to the stack he had already received and thanked Harry for the gift.

Neville's presents were given out next. "What are those?" Sirius asked, as Remus pulled out a packet of mixed seeds and a plant-pot.

"Seeds for a chocolate plant," Neville explained. Three sets of eyes were fixed on him as he spoke, though Teddy was pulling at the discarded wrapping paper as though something was hidden in there for him. "I have a plant in my rooms at Hogwarts, but with this being such short notice, I wasn't able to raise the plant first, so I thought the seeds would allow Prof… Remus to do it himself."

"What kind of chocolate?" Remus asked, staring at the seed packet in fascination.

"Well, all kinds," Neville explained. "The seeds are a mix, so if you plant them together, they'll make combinations when their branches entwine."

"You've just made his day," Sirius laughed as he passed Harry his present.

Harry quickly opened the gift bag, reaching in and taking out a small golden statue.

"A Golden Snidget," Sirius murmured, leaning closer. "These are quite valuable. They were made when Quidditch stopped using the Snidget and started using the Golden Snitch instead. The birds were very fragile and ended up being put on the endangered list."

Harry looked at the small golden bird once more, smiling. "Thank you," he said, as he examined the bird. "I've never even heard of these before. I really should read that History of Quidditch book more thoroughly."

Finally there were only two presents under the tree, both for Neville. The first was a rare book on Herbology from Remus, the second was a plant.

"Harry," Neville whispered, as he examined the leaves. "This is… the… the Drifting Fairymoss plant."

"Is it?" Harry asked, looking quite pleased at Neville's reaction.

Neville couldn't take his eyes off the large yellow and grey leaves that got larger the higher up the plant they were, or the large, dark-pink shell that was at the top, shining from the light coming from the window.

"How did you get this? I've been trying to get my hands on one for months. I had to go on a waiting list and…" he trailed off, awestruck at the plant. "Thank you," he finally whispered.

"Pretty flower!" Teddy said, trying to make a grab for the plant, but being pulled back by Harry.

"What's special about it?" Sirius asked, noticing that Remus too looked impressed.

"It only grows for a few weeks during the year," Neville said. "So it's very rare. When the shell hatches, it'll contain the Powder of Drifting Fairymoss. It's used to aid people who have nightmares. It helps with good dreams, daydreams, if mixed right… and it tastes amazing on salad as a seasoning. There are a lot of uses for it, but it's very rare to find, almost impossible to grow, too, though I hope I'm up to the challenge."

"I've never met anyone I believe in more with that plant," Harry insisted. Neville couldn't help but beam at him as he got up. "Is there a dark place I can store this for now, out of Teddy's reach?"

Harry nodded. "The cellar?"

"Perfect," Neville replied. Harry quickly got to his feet and led the way from the room with Teddy trailing after with his hair turning the same shade of pink as the shell at the top of Neville's plant.

...oOo...

Neville couldn't think of a better way to spend Christmas. He had always insisted years agothat he would spend in the ward with his parents, but it only served as a painful reminder that his parents weren't even aware of what day it was. His gran had allowed it twice before insisting that the pair would have insisted on Neville's happiness that day - for him to celebrate and pull crackers and open his presents, not him sitting around their room whilst they walked around him, with only a sweet wrapper to offer.

He still felt a little bit of guilt being away from them and made sure to take an hour to go and see them before dinner.

Neville returned to Grimmauld Place just as Harry and Remus set the table. He looked dubiously towards the kitchen, wondering if Sirius was any good at cooking.

Remus, reading his expression correctly, let out a chuckle. "If you're worried about food, there's no need to be. You should only be concerned when it's me in the kitchen and not Sirius."

"Dad's food is gross and stinky," Teddy chimed in helpfully.

Neville laughed and headed past the two into the kitchen where Sirius was waving his wand, the potatoes hovering in the air as they became a nice golden colour, with the sides slightly crispy, before falling into a dish.

"Do you want some help? I can start bringing things through, or I can get drinks?"

"Drinks would be great," Sirius said, not taking his focus off the broccoli as it flew into the air. "There's some wine on the counter, or some butterbeer if you prefer. Teddy has the orange juice."

Neville picked up the wine and pressed it against his body with his arm as he took jug of orange and managed to grab a couple of butterbeers in case Harry wanted them.

He headed back to the dining table and set the drinks down in the middle. The glasses were already out around the 4 place settings, with Teddy's smaller setting on the end of the table next to Remus.

...oOo...

They all retreated to the living room after dinner. Sirius, Harry and Neville drinking wine, whilst Remus followed his one drink with a cup of tea, insisting he wanted to keep his head clear whilst Teddy was there.

They talked for a while. Neville and Harry discussed Hogwarts and their latest conversations with their friends and how their friends were doing, and about their work. Sirius and Remus were content to cuddle up on the sofa, murmuring to each other, occasionally joining in the conversation with Harry and Neville, and showing interest each time Teddy brought something over to show them.

Neville was having a great time, when Sirius clutched his throat and began to cough, his eyes watering.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" Remus grabbed one of the wrappers from Sirius' lap, noticing one of the chocolates was nut. "You ate nuts! We better get you to hospital."

"Not... first... time... put nuts—" Sirius choked out around the coughing.

"No," Harry interrupted loudly. "Don't finish your sentence. I don't want to know the rest of it."

"I'm taking Sirius to St. Mungo's; peanut allergy. Harry, can you and Neville put Teddy to bed now? There's more wine on the counter. _Don't eat my chocolates._ St. Mungo's!" With that, they disappeared from the fireplace in a flash of green flames.

"Well, let's get Teddy ready for bed," Harry said, glancing around. "That's strange, he was here a minute ago."

"So were the box of chocolates the three of them were sharing," Neville pointed out, looking at where the lid and a small pile of wrappers sat.

...oOo...

"So… it's been a while, hasn't it?" Harry asked, once they had found Teddy and saved some of the chocolates. Teddy was now asleep in bed, leaving Harry and Neville alone.

Neville nodded his head. "June? July?"

"Either way, much too long," Harry argued. "I've been meaning to get in contact, ask you out for a drink and to catch up, but after the breakup with Ginny, things were a bit… difficult. I'm glad Sirius invited you."

"I'm glad too," Neville replied, taking a small sip out of his glass. "This wine is lovely!"

"I should hope so, I think it's the bottle you brought," Harry said with a laugh. "Great choice, though I have to admit, I would enjoy a bottle of cheap stuff. I'm not the most cultured when it comes to wine."

"Well, thankfully you're not sitting with the Malfoys then," Neville replied.

"I'd much rather be sitting with you," Harry said. "So… you were seeing Hannah?"

"Who told you that?" Neville asked.

"I… I thought you did. You said last time I saw you that you and Hannah had been spending some time together?"

Neville tried to think back. "Oh, she wanted me to help her with the plants her uncle uses in the Leaky Cauldron," Neville explained. "I was working with her on making them healthier. No romantic stuff going on there."

"And Luna?"

"We're just friends. She's off travelling again. I hear she's met someone on her adventures," Neville said, watching Harry. Harry was staring at him intently, as though looking for a reaction of some kind. A moment later, Harry looked away and Neville wondered what Harry had been looking for and what he had seen.

"That's good for her," Harry murmured, turning his gaze back to Neville. "So, you're single?"

"I am. You are too?"

Harry bit his lip nervously. "Yeah… I loved Ginny so much, but it just didn't feel right when we got back together after the war," he said. "We weren't a good fit - we'd argue over nothing. She'd get upset for no reason and I was no better, I guess. Finally, we decided to just end it. We spent more time attempting to make it work and reached the point where we both agreed that there wasn't anything worth fixing anymore."

"That sounds tough," Neville said softly. "So, do you have your sights set on another woman?"

Harry slowly shook his head, his eyes not leaving Neville's. When he stopped, he brought his glass to his lips, taking a small sip of the wine. "Not a woman, no."

"Oh." Neville stared at him. "A man?"

"Yeah. It doesn't… bother you, does it? I mean, we all know what Dean and Seamus were doing when they were 'privately studying' behind the closed curtains, and that never seemed to bother you…"

"It's fine. I… I get it. I really get it. You can't help who you are attracted to, can you? You like women and men and I… yeah, I understand. Men can be just as attractive."

"Neville, are there any blokes you're interested in?" Harry asked, jumping on the topic as he shifted forward, green eyes staring intensely at him. "Who?"

Neville ducked his head, choosing to stare at the stem of the wine glass instead. He couldn't admit to his feelings for Harry - that'd be too much. It wasn't that he wanted to keep it a secret: it was because he was scared of rejection. Apart from a couple of snogs with Theodore Nott in Hogwarts when Snape and the Carrows had taken over, Neville hadn't really been attracted to another guy. Well, no-one apart from Harry. He had noticed Harry back in the fifth year during the DA club.

And maybe he held his wand wrong for so long on purpose, just to feel Harry's hand on his, adjusting it, helping him with his spells.

"After Ginny, I ended up going for drinks with Terry Boot from Hogwarts. One thing led to another and we… we didn't have sex, but we fooled around a little. It lasted a month," Harry said, filling the silence.

"Theodore Nott, when Snape was Headmaster," Neville replied softly.

"This might be a silly time to ask.. But: mistletoe. Is it to kiss under or do we move away from the nargles?"

Harry glanced up and Neville followed his gaze, spotting some mistletoe flying around above their heads.

He realised quickly that Harry was giving him an out. He could laugh and claim it was full of nargles and then the moment would pass, or he could take the kiss. Harry looked quite hopeful, and Neville decided to go for it.

He wasn't usually one for taking risks, but he needed to at this moment. He knew he'd regret it if he didn't.

He shifted closer, smiling softly as Harry did the same, and they both leaned in at the same time. He tilted his head, his hand coming up to the back of Harry's neck as their lips touched for the first time.

...oOo...

The pair finally pulled away from each other at the sound of stumbling through the fire.

Harry tried to fix his hair, which was tousled from where they had been kissing for the best part of an hour, and Neville fixed his slightly rumpled clothes.

"How are you feeling, Sirius?"

Sirius smiled. "All better. I—"

"He didn't eat anything with nuts in, his chocolate just went down the wrong way. The wrapper on his lap was one of Teddy's wrappers," Remus explained, looking slightly annoyed.

"Moonpie, does it matter? They've clearly been snogging so it all worked out for the best."

Remus' rested a hand on his forehead and sighed. "We're going to turn in early. We'll check on Teddy first. Goodnight both of you."

"Goodnight," they both said, waiting until the living room door closed before turning back to each other.

"The… the mistletoe is still there," Harry murmured. "I think that means I should keep kissing you."

"I agree," Neville whispered. "And… there will be some in my flat… the day after boxing day… maybe over dinner."

"Sounds great. I'll be there. And New Years when Sirius does the fireworks here…"

"I'm in," Neville murmured against his lips. "Breakfast next week?"

"Only if I can make you dinner the night before?" Harry countered with a grin.

"You're on," Neville said, before lips covered his again.

* * *

 **Review Please :)**

Thanks to Raybe and Shannon for betaing, and to Myc and Dina for help with the plant.

Also to Raybe for the title! :D


	13. RemusSirius for Shannon

Written for Shannon as her Secret Santa let her down. Enjoy.

Thanks to Raybe for the plot. Thanks to Dina for loads of help and betaing. :)

* * *

The Little Wolf Bakery

* * *

Sirius waited outside of the office blocks where his brother worked. Regulus had finally moved away from their father's company, choosing the lower-paying, but more fulfilling job of marketing rather than law like their father and his father before him.

Since starting his new job, Regulus had been free to get back in contact with Sirius, and Sirius was eager for the opportunity to reconnect with his younger brother. They had only been texting and calling but now they were going to have lunch together for the first time since Sirius ran away from home.

He glanced through the windows of the reception to the large clock on the far wall. Regulus was fifteen minutes late already and Sirius knew that lunch would be a rushed sandwich in the cafe, which was fine by him. As long as he got to see his brother again.

It was only a minute before the doors opened and Regulus walked out, talking animatedly to a man with brown hair and an odd tongue-tick. The pair parted ways at the door and Regulus headed over.

"Sorry, a meeting ran over," he said, reaching out and hugging Sirius tightly. "I've missed you. Coffee?"

"Sure," Sirius replied eagerly. "We could get some sandwiches too. I noticed a bakery. The Little Wolf—"

"No, not there!" Regulus said, looking quite terrified at the very idea. "I know just the place."

Sirius allowed Regulus to lead the way past the Little Wolf Bakery and to Costa Coffee a short walk away. Sirius insisted on paying for the drinks and food, even though he thought it was slightly expensive.

As Regulus started talking about his job, Sirius found his thoughts wandering. It was the middle of the day—lunchtime—on a weekday. Everywhere else he passed was full… all except that little bakery. What about it caused people to avoid it like the plague?

What about it could terrify his stoic, unflappable little brother?

...oOo...

Sirius wasn't one to wait to find out information. After dropping Regulus back at his office, Sirius turned his attention to the bakery. As he approached, he glanced at the little sign out the front. A chalkboard with bright colours advertising half price cookies, whilst the rest was decorated with adorable wolves.

Sirius thought it sounded like a great offer.

He pushed the door opening and listening to the bell above it tinkle adorably. He pictured an old lady to be behind the counter, knitting.

"Hello, can I help you?" the voice was very eager. It was also soft and enticing, and much younger than Sirius was expecting to had to blink a few times to ensure he was really seeing a handsome man where he expected the old lady to be.

"Oh. I saw… the board and… cookies," Sirius said, struggling to keep a coherent thought in the face of such beauty.

"Cookies, yes, I have cookies." The man almost ran over to the display where the cookies were wrapped in packets of three.

"So, what's the sale for?" Sirius asked, joining the man by the cookies and reaching for a packet.

"Out of business sale," the man muttered sadly. "I have a lot of ingredients left and thought I may as well use them before closing down."

Sirius resisted the urge to reach for the handsome man, but held back. "I'm sorry to hear about you closing down. I'll take some of the cookies. They'll be good for a few days and my roommate loves cookies."

The man's face lit up and Sirius found himself reaching for six packs instead of the two that he had originally planned to get. He paid quickly and smiled at the man on the way out. Maybe he could come back before the place shut down and talk to the owner again. The guy was just adorable and Sirius was certain eyes had been on his arse as he left the shop.

...oOo...

"I bought you some cookies," Sirius said, dropping the carrier bag down on the coffee table. "On sale from this cute little bakery."

James eagerly got up from the desk, forgetting about the files he had been looking over and walked to the coffee table, fishing out a packet from the bag. "Double chocolate-chip," he said, looking at the front. He ripped the packet open, pulling out a large cookie and offering the bag to Sirius.

Sirius took one and they both bit into their cookies at the same time.

...oOo...

Sirius somehow managed to swallow the heavy lump of 'cookie' in his mouth, whilst watching James spit the 'cookie' out into a piece of kitchen roll. He didn't know what had happened. Maybe he picked up a bad batch or something.

He reached into the bag again before withdrawing some oatmeal cookies and opened them, nibbling on the corner. Nope. They were all bad.

"Where the hell did you get these?" James muttered, screwing the dirtied paper towel up and throwing it into the bin next to the desk. "Never go there again!"

"I… I have to," Sirius muttered, staring down at the cookies. "The guy who owns the place… he… it's going to close."

"Sirius, you can't go worrying about strangers. That's bad news, but have you considered that this guy is clearly not in the right profession if he's making these?"

Sirius sighed.

"You like him, don't you?" James added accusingly. "You only want to help him because you fancy him!"

"I'd want to help anyway," Sirius muttered.

"I don't doubt that," James agreed. "You just want everyone to be happy, don't you? Fine. On Saturday I'll—"

"I'm going in there tomorrow," Sirius argued. "You can come on Saturday, but this guy needs some cooking lessons."

...oOo...

"Back again? You know, I don't tend to see people more than once. Unless… are you here to return the cookies? I'll just refund you… it was eight—"

"No, I'm not here for a refund," Sirius said, approaching the counter where the man was trying to open the till. "I don't want to offend you and there's no nice way of saying this, but you can't cook." The man's face dropped and Sirius quickly continued. "So I thought I'd come back and see where you're going wrong with your cooking and help you out."

The man beamed at him. "You know, my mum always says there are good people out there - good samaritans, but more often than not I don't believe her. Well, until now that is. Come on through. Can I interest you in a cup of tea before we start?"

Sirius bit his lip doubtfully.

"Trust me, I'm an expert at making tea," the man insisted with an adorable smile. "I'm Remus, by the way."

"Sirius," He replied. "Like the star."

...oOo...

Sirius watched as Remus made up a batch of cookies, mentally noting everything that was wrong with what he was doing. It wasn't until Remus had them ready to put in the oven, that Sirius shook his head.

"Remus, baking soda and baking powder are very different things," he began. "Also, you're melting the butter, you can't make it too hot and add in the eggs. It causes them to curdle. They both need to be room temperature. You don't want to cook the eggs in the hot butter after all. Bad things happen when one is too hot and the other is too cold."

"Oh."

"Also, you need to mix everything more thoroughly and measure more accurately. If it says one scoop of something, you use something to level out the scoop."

Remus looked slightly lost and stepped away from his baking table, instead putting his old cookies into the bin and setting the baking tray to the side for washing.

"Let's clean this lot up and I'll help you make a batch and you can see what to do," Sirius offered.

Remus smiled widely at him. "Thank you so much for this. I mean, you must be so busy, yet you've come here to help me. If I can do this, if I can keep this place… you get free cookies for life!"

Sirius grinned. "I like your optimism and your offer," he agreed, rolling up his sleeves. "Let's get washing."

...oOo...

Sirius liked having a clean work-space before he started cooking. He only knew how to make a few things, cookies being one of them. His mum —Mum-Dorea, not Mother-Walburga— taught him a few things in the kitchen after he ran away to the Potters.

Muffins and cupcakes were two more things he could make, though he made cookies the most because of James' addiction to them.

Once the workspace had been cleaned and Remus had returned with the ingredients, Sirius got to work, explaining in detail how everything should look and feel whilst making it. How to roll the dough until it was even. Remus copied him, watching carefully and Sirius was proud that Remus did everything exactly how he described.

Even if Remus was slightly more generous with the chocolate chips than Sirius would have prefered.

The pair enjoyed a cup of tea as the cookies were placed into the oven and Sirius made up some sandwiches for the pair of them.

"So," Remus said after swallowing a bite of his toasted tuna and cheese sandwich. "What brought you in here in the first place?"

Sirius bit his lip, not wanting to talk about his curiosity over why Regulus was terrified of the place, but the expression on his face gave him away.

"You've heard it was bad? Then why—"

"Now my brother didn't say that… he just wanted to go somewhere else and I thought this place looked nice so thought I'd come in here after dropping him back at work," Sirius said. "You did well with the cookies today. You just need a few cooking lessons and I'm sure this place will be overflowing with customers in no time."

"You think?" Remus asked, his eyes widening eagerly. "I've done everything possible to keep this place going. Every penny of my savings has gone into it, but my cook left and I've been trying my hardest, but… my mum didn't want the place so my nain left it to me. It was even named after me: The Little Wolf Bakery."

"Nain?"

"It's Welsh for nan," Remus explained. "I used to help her sometimes, cutting the cookies and stuff, and it was wonderful. I have so many memories here. We even had a little table out front for my own creations."

"And you'll have many more memories, you know, with your own children," Sirius asked, unable to stop himself digging for information.

"I have a son. He's still tiny. I'd love to bring him here."

"A… a son. So, you're married?" Sirius was unable to hide his disappointment at the news. His gaze quickly moved to Remus' hand, though there was no ring on his finger.

Remus stared at him a moment before a smile appeared. "No. I'm quite single and… and gender doesn't matter to me. Dora has always been my best friend. We had this stupid—though maybe not so stupid—pact that if we were both virgins at eighteen, we'd sleep together. One time is all it takes, right? I thought this place would give help me with Teddy. I'd have a steady job running here and income…" He trailed off at the sound of the timer. "Well, let's see how these are."

...oOo...

Sirius stared at the cookie in his hand and at the man who was banging his head against the table. They weren't as bad as the other lot, but he had watched Remus like a hawk and Remus should have had some suitable cookies.

"I swear there's a curse on the family," Remus muttered. "My mum can't cook and her dad can't cook either. The only reason my gran can cook is because she's got a different bloodline."

"It's okay," Sirius assured him. "I'll keep teaching you. As for stuff to sell now… I'm not going anywhere."

"But why are you doing this? Giving up more time to help me?" Remus whispered, refraining from hitting his head against the table some more.

"Because… it feels good to help someone else out," Sirius said, already pulling out ingredients. "My parents were the sort where they wouldn't give their spare change to someone who was homeless, and they were loaded… still are. I've seen my father fire people for stupid reasons, not caring if they have kids or someone dependant on them. I like to think that my helping others kind of cancels their cruelty out."

"And it's good for karma," Remus stated softly. "You're a good person, Sirius. It's not many people who would help out a stranger like this, even with a reason like yours. Your parents' cruelty isn't a price you have to pay yourself."

Sirius nodded. "You don't have… Teddy? tonight do you?"

Remus shook his head. "Why?"

"Because you've not got much time here, so we want this place ready for business tomorrow. Now. I'm going to cook, you cut and watch the door."

"What are you making?"

"Mini cookie squares," Sirius said. "Free samples. We need to show everyone that there is nothing to fear from eating here. We start with my brother's office. All we need are a few people to come in and others will follow."

"Will they?" Remus asked doubtfully.

"Of course. If you thought somewhere… needed a little improvement on their food, then suddenly saw people flock there, you'd assume that the food has improved and find yourself curious."

"You make a good point, and that's the nicest way someone has said I can't cook to save my life."

"So I'll mix, you cut them up into little bite sized chunks, we cook overnight and have a grand opening tomorrow with samples. We just need someone to come and give them out. Do you know anyone?"

"Teddy's babysitter. He's fifteen, family friend of Dora's," Remus offered. "What time do you want him?"

"If we could get him in all day?" Sirius asked. "Old enough to be hanging around outside?"

"Fifteen," Remus confirmed. "Charlie is a good kid. Easily distracted when animals are around though."

"Perfect. I'll get my brother to make up some flyers. He's in marketing."

"That'll cost—"

"Free. Family discount," Sirius said, getting excited. "That'll take him five minutes to get something made for us."

Remus grinned at the word 'us', but didn't comment. Instead he shifted closer to Sirius, placing his hand over the other man's. Sirius stopped his mixing, turning his head towards Remus. "I just wanted to say thank you again," Remus murmured. He leaned in and placed a soft kiss to Sirius' cheek. "I'm going to lock the door for the day, I doubt I'll have customers today anyway. I'll give the place a good clean and get it ready for tomorrow."

Sirius stared after Remus as he walked away, his fingers moving to touch his cheek. Suddenly he was even more determined to make the bakery work. He didn't want to let Remus down.

Even if it meant coming in every day and working the kitchen for him.

For the first time ever, the idea of getting a job excited him.

...oOo...

The next morning, Sirius was there at six, ready to open up with Remus. The pair both had very little sleep and Sirius watched Remus fondly as he approached, clutching the two hot chocolates, his eyes drooping slightly.

"Excited?" Remus asked, grinning tiredly as he passed the drinks to Sirius and pulled out the key. "You know, you don't have to do this. It's not your responsibility."

"If you don't want my help, just say," Sirius murmured. "If that's not the case, I think I'm going to be sticking around for a while if that's alright with you. I'm enjoying your company. Also, this may have started as a way to do a good deed, but I feel invested now. In helping you. In this place."

"In… in us?" Remus asked shyly.

"Well, if there is an 'us', I would be extremely invested," Sirius confirmed. "Though when I came back, that wasn't the intention, I promise you. I mean, if you weren't interested, I'd still be here."

Remus stopped attempting to fit the key in the door. He turned to Sirius and smiled softly. "I know," he said. "But I am very interested. Who wouldn't be? I've known you for a day and you're the most interesting person I've ever met. You're smart, funny… very handsome. Extremely sweet, and I can't help but want there to be an us. I like watching you in the kitchen, because it's nice not to be doing this alone…" He bit his lip. "I mean, I know it's only till I'm on my feet and all, and you might not want to—"

"Remus, I like cooking and I like spending time with you. You'll get sick of me before long," Sirius teased. "I'm sticking around for as long as you'll have me. We'll make this place work."

Remus pushed the door open and reached for one of the drinks. He took Sirius' free hand in his own and led the way into the shop.

" _We_ will," he agreed.

...oOo...

Sirius had never cooked so much in his life. Charlie had turned up with his brother an hour later, asking if they needed extra help. Sirius was glad, because Bill was willing to bring trays of samples to nearby offices whilst Charlie stood outside with trays of samples.

Sirius filled the shelves.

"If this doesn't work," Remus murmured, "it's the end of this place. With what it's costing to do this, I'll be lucky to have a week here."

Sirius debated whether to tell Remus that he had an inheritance tucked away and would help him, but chose to stay silent on the matter for now, instead wrapping an arm around Remus' shoulders.

They glanced towards the door when the bell tingled.

"James! Our first customer!" Sirius said, grinning at his best friend. "Come on in and buy some cookies."

James eyed up the cookie stand. "So… these look nice… they look like the ones you make at home…"

"Sirius made those," Remus said. "They taste really good. He's been showing me how to make cookies, I'm just…"

"Learning," Sirius finished for him, grinning. "So, no more free cookies at home, James. You'll have to buy them like everyone else!"

James sighed but reached for a few packets before heading to the counter and pulling out his wallet. His eyes fell on the samples tray. "Hey, you want me to bring some of those to my office?" he offered.

Remus smiled warmly. "If it's no trouble," he said, taking the offered money and quickly ringing up the sale. He put the cookies into a carrier bag and handed James his change.

"Going to be late again?" James asked Sirius.

"Maybe," Sirius murmured, glancing shyly at Remus.

"Okay let me know," James replied. "Now give me some samples and I'll go into work and talk this place up."

...oOo...

"I think that's the busiest I've been since I've taken over," Remus murmured, glancing at the full till. "If it carries on like this, I might be able to save the place."

Sirius turned the lock on the front door and turned the closing sign before heading back to the counter. Charlie and Bill had gone home hours before after the lunchtime rush had disappeared and all the samples and leaflets were given out.

"I was thinking... if you save the place, you might be in need of a full time cook," Sirius suggested. "And I don't want to brag, but I've gone to cooking classes and everything!"

Remus' eyebrows lifted. "Have you?" he asked, impressed.

"Well, just the one. I may have started a fire when I first moved in with James. I can make loads of different types of cookies though and mum has other things she can teach me."

"I get to keep the bakery, I get a handsome new cook and…"

"And an exciting new relationship," Sirius added. "Looks like both of our luck is in!"

...oOo...

Sirius hummed as he rolled out the cookie dough ready to cut for the morning rush. Business in the bakery had boomed, especially once they started making their own bread and selling sandwiches as well as cookies and other baked goods.

He was so engrossed in his task, he didn't heard the door creak as it opened.

"Mummy tried to teach me how to make cookies," came a little voice, causing Sirius to drop the spoon in surprise. He turned, his eyes falling on a small boy who looked the spitting image of Remus. "But she says I make cookies just like daddy's cookies. When I ask to make cookies, mummy gets the paints out instead."

Sirius wanted to laugh, but refrained, instead pulling over a stool.

"Well, I don't need help making them, but I do need help cutting them," he said. "Do you want to help with that? You can help me put them on a tray and in the oven too."

"Can I?" Teddy whispered, his eyes widening.

"Only if you scrub your hands first," Sirius replied, scooping Teddy up and bringing him over to the sink. He switched the tap on and Teddy leaned over, putting his little hands under the spray and causing the water to splash Sirius. He let out a little giggle.

"Teddy, behave yourself," came Remus' voice from the door.

"Sorry Daddy," Teddy murmured, washing his hands properly. Remus waited until they were clean and Teddy had been put on the stool with some various cookie cutting shapes.

"I was talking to Dora out front," he began. "She's got an important last minute appointment and her mum is in France. Would it be a problem if Teddy stayed here with us for now? She's trying to call Charlie, but there's no answer at the Weasley house at the moment. He can be quite excitable and I don't want to overwhelm you—"

"It's fine," Sirius insisted, smiling at the boy. "Don't worry so much about this, Remus. I know that you're a package deal and I'm good with that. Believe it or not, I'm pretty good with kids."

He turned back to Teddy. "We could make a special display out the front for the cookies you cut. Would you like that?"

"Really? Can I decorate it myself?" Teddy asked excitedly.

Sirius pulled open a drawer, quickly finding some cookie shapes and set them down next to Teddy. "Of course you can," he assured the boy, before looking up where Remus was hovering. "Don't worry Remus, I've got this."

He turned his attention back to Teddy as Remus walked back out. "Now, I think we should have a sign for your table. We can call them: 'Teddy's Treats'. I also have lots of fun things to decorate your cookies with."

Teddy's eyes widened at the idea and Sirius headed to the cupboard to pull everything down and grab another box of chocolate chips. If the boy was anything like his father, they'd need them.

* * *

 **Review Please :)**


	14. SiriusRemus for Sam

**Written for Sam - prize fic from Writing Club on the Hogwarts forum. Prompt: Jealous Wolfstar**

Also for:

Hogwarts National Hobby Month: Ballet Dancing: Write about someone dancing.

Hogwarts Writing Club: Commitment Day \- Write about someone making a commitment

Hamilton Challenge: [scenario] Write about jealousy, or watching something from afar.

* * *

 **Two to Tango**

* * *

Sirius was almost vibrating with excitement as Remus led him down the street. It was their second anniversary and Remus wanted to give Sirius a special evening out.

Sirius _had_ brought him to a chocolate factory for their first anniversary after all.

They stopped outside of a small studio and Sirius glanced up at it, his eyes widening at the sight. "Remus," he whispered. "Are we…"

"Well, you've always wanted to learn how to dance. I thought we could learn to tango," Remus said, glad that Sirius looked so enthusiastic. Remus wasn't much of a dancer, but he knew Sirius had wanted to take a dance class for so long, even if he stopped mentioning it to Remus, knowing of Remus' aversion to dancing.

"Are you sure? We could just go for dinner." Remus didn't miss the longing look Sirius shot at the place as he made the offer and Remus smiled.

"Bella Italia is just down the road. We had our first date there, so I thought we could work up an appetite here and go and eat there afterwards?"

"Sounds like a great plan," Sirius confirmed. He strode over to the door and pulled it open. "After you, love," he insisted.

Remus couldn't help but laugh as he walked through the door. Sirius liked to think of himself as a gentleman, but Remus knew full well that Sirius only wanted to walk behind him so he could stare at his arse.

...oOo…

"You have a natural talent for this," the dance teacher said, running her hand through her blonde curls as she watched Sirius. Remus looked at his boyfriend dancing with one of the old ladies that had pounced on the pair as they walked in and silently agreed. Sirius moved so gracefully and had secretly confided in Remus that his parents sent both him and his brother to dance classes amongst other ones.

The woman dancing with Sirius was almost as old as Remus' grandmother and she took a deep breath, her hand resting on her chest. "I think I need to take a moment to sit down," she said before winking at Sirius. "You know how to wear a woman out!"

"You've kept up extremely well, Enid," Sirius murmured flirtatiously. "I bet in your day you drove all the men crazy."

"I still do," she assured him. "I'm here to brush up on my dancing skills. I've met a man who wants to take me on a cruise!"

She moved away from Sirius and Remus' partner excused herself and patted Remus on the head before heading to the bar at the side to order some alcoholic drinks.

Remus turned, hoping to get a chance to dance with Sirius now that their partners were gone, but the dance teacher had swooped in quicker than him. Remus watched as she instructed him on a slightly harder dance move, one that Remus didn't quite understand, before he followed Enid and Carol to the bar.

He was sure Sirius would come and get him soon so they could dance together.

...oOo...

Remus sipped at his lemonade as he watched the couple dancing, his eyes narrowing as the time went on. The ladies had been talking mostly amongst themselves and had tried to include Remus, but he was quite distracted and they noticed. They followed his gaze.

"A beautiful girl, isn't she?" Enid remarked. "In my day I had a figure like that!"

"She is," Remus muttered, frowning.

"And she's taken a liking to your friend. Marlene never usually dances with the men that come here," Carol offered. "She's a nice girl, don't worry, she won't break his heart. He seems quite taken with her too."

"Your hand is too high," Remus heard Marlene say. "For a better hold on your partner, you need to put your hand on the small of her back." Remus watched Sirius' hand drift lower and Marlene pressed closer to him.

They had been dancing for over half an hour and Sirius hadn't taken his eyes off her. Remus' vision started to turn red and he suddenly needed to get away from the sight of Sirius with someone else in his arms.

"He does seem quite taken," Remus muttered, standing up from the chair. Enid grabbed his hand.

"Are you alright, my dear?" she asked.

"I am," Remus replied as all the insecurities from the start of his relationship began to overwhelm him. "It's just… it's our anniversary and he's…" Remus tried to take a deep breath but struggled to calm himself. "It was nice to meet you both."

With that, he left.

...oOo...

Sirius grinned as Marlene brought the lesson to an end. He loved dancing and it was one of the things he missed from his old life, before running away. He was glad Remus had chosen the dance class for their anniversary.

Marlene had shown him some intermediate dance moves that he planned to impress Remus with when he had the chance. He glanced around, wondering if Remus saw how well he had been dancing, but couldn't see him.

"So… I was wondering if you're free later," Marlene murmured, not moving when he let go of her. "It's not often I've had such an enticing dance partner."

"I'm sorry, I'm busy," he replied distractedly, looking around and spotting a toilet door on the other side of the bar. Remus was probably in there. He walked away from Marlene towards the toilets, confused as to why Enid and Carol were glaring at him, but Marlene followed. "How about tomorrow night?" she asked.

"Me and Remus have plans," Sirius said, watching another man walk over to the toilet doors. The man pushed it, only to find it was locked. The door of the disabled toilet next to it was ajar. "But I can't see him?"

"Oh your little friend?" Marlene asked. "I saw him leave about twenty minutes ago. He was sitting at the bar with Enid and Carol for a while." She giggled. "He must have seen the chemistry between us and left to free your night up for me."

"Remus left?" Sirius repeated, his gaze moving to the door and then the window, hoping Remus was waiting outside for him. The street was empty. "But why?"

"Maybe because you were so wrapped up in someone else," Carol said, eyeing Sirius up as though he had ripped Remus' heart out and stamped all over it.

"But he knows that I wouldn't do that," Sirius insisted, shaking his head. He looked towards where he had put his jacket on a chair next to Remus' heavy winter cardigan, but the cardigan was gone. "Crap, I better go—"

"He'll be alright," Marlene said, following him. "I'm sure he's a big boy and can deal with his friend—"

"That's my boyfriend," Sirius said, turning around angrily. "He's been gone for twenty minutes and I've spent the whole time dancing with you and didn't even notice he wasn't here to spend our anniversary together. He only chose to come here for me and I've let him down." He pulled out of Marlene's grip and grabbed his jacket. "I was going to propose tonight," he said, before rushing out, trying to think about where Remus would have gone.

Not home, because Remus liked to walk around when he was upset, something which Sirius hated because he didn't like Remus walking around in the dark in case he got mugged or hurt. He began walking further into town, his head turning desperately as he searched for Remus or a phone box in which he could call their house-phone.

He froze at the sight of their restaurant. Would he be in there? Would he still go there alone? Sirius moved forward, desperately hoping Remus was there and that Remus would forgive him. After all, Sirius understood jealousy all too well, he got jealous so easily. But Remus never got jealous because Remus trusted him. (Sirius trusted Remus too, it was the men with grabby hands that Sirius didn't trust).

But then again, Sirius was never usually pressed up so tightly to someone else and ignoring Remus. Marlene had clearly gotten the wrong idea, and he hated how it must have looked in Remus' eyes because Remus would never get up and leave unless he was really hurt or upset.

He ignored the podium and the hostess as he entered the restaurant, choosing to walk straight past them on his way to 'their' table. The table they had sat at for their first date. After all, Remus was a big romantic. It took him only seconds to recognise the cardigan and the man hunched over, nibbling idly on some dough balls.

Sirius dropped into the seat facing, causing Remus to jump.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

Remus turned his gaze to the table. "It's fine," he murmured in a voice which meant it was clearly _not_ fine, but that Remus wasn't going to address the issue at all. Sirius shook his head. He had made the mistake during their first year to allow subjects to go undiscussed. He had allowed Remus to get hurt in the past by his stupid behaviour and had told himself that he'd always put Remus first from then on, and would discuss any problem that came up.

"Today is our day," he began. "I was so engrossed in dancing again, that I didn't stop to think that I should have been dancing with you. Remus, I love you and I fucked up. I wasn't interested in Marlene in the slightest, I swear on James' life. I didn't realise… I know I've messed up because I never even saw you leave. I'm not going to deny that, but please don't… I love you!"

Remus' eyes moved up from the table and Sirius could see the hurt in them.

"I've ruined our night, haven't I?" Sirius asked, grabbing for Remus' hand on the table. "I had it all planned out. I was going to take you somewhere after whatever you had planned… but you had beat me to it, booking the table here. Well, I was going to… I had a ring and everything."

"A ring?" Remus said, his eyes widening. "Whatever for?"

"To propose to you," Sirius said. "Remus, you can't even think that I'd look at anyone else when I have you. No-one could ever come close to you. You're everything to me. I've told you so many times that you are my future. I thought…"

"I'll have that ring now," Remus murmured, cutting Sirius off as his other hand pressing on top of their joined hands. Sirius nodded, words suddenly failing him as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box.

"So, is that a yes?" Sirius asked after a long moment of silence.

"When have I ever said no to you?" Remus replied, some of the hurt fading from his eyes. He managed a smile and Sirius grinned back.

"I can think of a few times. Last week when we were in the bedroom and I suggested that we—"

"That's still a no," Remus interrupted with a laugh. "But this…" he opened the box and stared at the plain band in awe. "This is a yes!"

* * *

 **Review please :)**


	15. PercyHermione for Carmen

**The Right Prince  
**

* * *

 **Written for Carmen for the GGE**

 **Prompts: Hermione/Percy, Royalty!AU**

* * *

Hermione shifted awkwardly in the dress her mother asked her to wear as she climbed from the carriage, accepting Harry's help down from it. She was struggling to take a proper breath due to the tightness of the corset but didn't have a choice in the matter. She had to look her best, she had been told. Though she knew what to expect from the meeting, she was still quite nervous. After all, she was at the castle and would finally be meeting her future husband, Ronald.

It could have been worse, she told herself. After all, she could have been marrying William Weasley, the oldest of the Weasley brothers. Though he was very handsome, William was the heir to the throne and his wife would become queen when he became king. Hermione was quite glad that the prince her parents had arranged to marry her to was sixth in line.

There was no chance of her becoming queen which was how she liked it. The thought of ruling a kingdom didn't interest her. Yes, she had expected to take over from her parents with a future husband, but never to rule a whole kingdom.

"Now, Hermione, do you remember everything you've studied about the royal family?" her father asked as Harry let go of her hand and stood back with the other guards.

"Yes, Father," she replied, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at him. "There are seven children. William, Charles, Percival, Frederick, George, Ronald and Ginevra. I can name all of their betrothed and their family history going back for two-hundred years. I've read all of the books you've given me - twice."

"Very good," her father said approvingly. "Now, please be respectful to the prince when you meet him. First impressions are very important."

Hermione nodded. Her parents had been very clear on how she should act during the visit. She didn't like the idea of downplaying her love of books and pretending to be interested in making public appearances, but that was what was required of her.

Even though the Weasleys knew of her interests, her parents insisted on having her act this way. They wanted her to fit into the family. Hermione didn't like the idea at all, but she wasn't going to go against her father's orders. Perhaps, once the wedding was over, she'd be able to visit the library and study?

They walked up the steps of the castle, Hermione holding her father's arm and carefully holding her dress up to stop herself tripping on the material. At the top, a butler waited.

"Lord and Lady Granger," he said, bowing to Hermione's parents. "Lady Hermione," he added, turning his attention to her. "If you'll follow me."

Hermione allowed herself to be led into the castle. Her mother walked holding her father's other arm and she could hear footsteps behind her from her parents guard, and her own guard/chaperone, Harry. She felt slightly relieved that there was a friendly face to endure the stay with her, though she didn't turn around to offer him a smile as she would have done had they been elsewhere.

The hall they were brought into was vast, the ceilings were higher than expected and Hermione's eyes widened as she looked around. There were tapestries and paintings that looked hundreds of years old and she was eager to explore the castle and read the history in more depth.

A grey stone staircase sat in front of them, but the guard led them past it and through a door at the far end of the room.

"Lady Hermione," the butler said, pausing to look at her. "The King and Queen have requested to speak to your parents alone briefly before you are to be introduced to the prince. Would you like a cup of tea in the parlour or a walk in the gardens?"

"Would it be possible to view the castle library if there is one?" Hermione asked politely, trying not to sound too hopeful.

Thankfully her hope wasn't in vain. The man smiled at her. "Of course. I'll escort you there in a moment. If you'll wait here?"

Hermione returned the smile and watched as the butler knocked on the door before leading her parents into the room. The guards stopped outside of the room. It was only a moment before the butler returned.

Harry walked closely behind Hermione as they headed for the library.

"What do you think that was about?" Hermione asked, turning to Harry the moment the door shut behind them. "A problem with the marriage contract, perhaps? Or do you think the King and Queen are adding more requests to it?"

"I know you, Hermione. Don't worry at all about it," Harry replied. "You'll just get yourself worked up and upset. You should use this time to take a look through the library. Can you imagine how many fascinating books are in here?"

"It's so much bigger than our library at home," Hermione replied, her eyes widening as she looked around. She had never seen a library even half the size of the castle library. "It would take me a lifetime to read all of these books! I believe I could be very happy here. I mean, if I'm allowed to come in here often."

"Pardon me for listening in to your conversation," came a voice. They both spun around, Harry's hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

At the sight of the man, Harry quickly bowed and Hermione dropped into a curtsy. There was no mistaking the red hair of the Weasley family. "My Prince," Hermione began. "My apologies, I thought we were alone, or I would have been more respectful and quiet, or not come in at all."

"Lady Granger, I presume?" the prince asked. Harry nodded and the prince offered his hand. "Please don't bow to me. As for not coming into the library: well, I have to admit it is wonderful to see someone else finding books as valuable as I do. I only wished to say that I read in here daily, yet have no hopes of finishing all of these books myself."

"I love to read and to learn," Hermione replied, taking his hand and standing up. She took a moment to look him over. The man was dressed in formal robes and was clutching a book in his hand. He wore plain horn-rimmed glasses which hid warm blue eyes. "I can't count the number of times I've forgotten to attend dinner as I've gotten carried away reading a book in my family's manor."

"It is easy to get lost in a fascinating story or be unable to stop reading one of the history books in here," the prince agreed. "Come, let me show you around the library. Perhaps I could give you a place to start your search for a book to peruse?"

He offered his arm and Hermione smiled as she took it. "Your intended is a lucky woman," she said.

"I don't have an intended currently," he replied, leading the way through the room and up a staircase that Hermione hadn't noticed at first. "I keep all my favourite books in a bookcase up here so I can read them again."

"A great idea," Hermione agreed, feeling happy for the first time since learning of the marriage contract. To her knowledge there was only one prince that didn't have a contract drawn up, and that was Prince Ronald. Therefore that had to be the man she was currently following. She hadn't expected him to share her love of books and was starting to not dread the arrangement that would be put in place between them.

Her mother had carefully explained that some marriages could lead to love, whilst some led to companionship. And some didn't work out at all. Hermione had feared that her marriage would be the latter, but the few minutes of getting to know him showed her that she had nothing to fear. Though quite serious and unsmiling, the prince shared her passion. At the very least, they would get along.

They stopped be a large bookcase that stood separate from the others. An armchair with a footrest sat nearby.

Hermione quickly moved forward, her eyes scanning the spines. She was surprised to find two of her favourite books included in the prince's favourites.

 _"Call to the Past,"_ Hermione murmured, pulling the book out and examining it. "I have to admit that this is one of my favourites. I don't know if I believe in things such as past lives, but the writer makes it so compelling in the book that it makes me want to believe."

The prince sat down on the footstool and gestured to Hermione to sit in the chair. She smoothed her dress as she sat down. A flicker of a smile crossed his lips as he looked at the book in her hands. "I have to agree, Milady," he replied. "I'm not one to believe in the reading of stars and fortunes. I don't believe what my tea-leaves tell me, but this book wants me to believe that I've lived before and that I'll live again after this. The story is beautiful, is it not?"

"That the world is full of souls," Hermione said. "That living a new life is the search of the soul that is meant for yours. When you find your soulmate, you don't get reborn, instead you get to spend eternity with them in the afterlife."

"Do you wish to find the soul that matches yours?" the prince asked.

"I don't believe in soulmates, but that doesn't mean there isn't someone out there that can share my interests and loves," Hermione replied. "The book contains a wonderful story. It makes me wonder how many stories out there are waiting to be written."

"Do you have a story?"

Hermione smiled. "I'm a lady. I'm not permitted to write one."

"Soon to be princess," the prince reminded her. "As a princess, would you wish to write your own story?"

"I wouldn't know where to start," Hermione admitted.

"I'd be happy to assist you. I'm sure that someone as… as enchanting as yourself would provide a story that is too."

"Herm… Lady Hermione, it's time," Harry called from where he was standing a distance away as to offer the pair privacy in their conversation, but where he could keep them in his sight.

"Already?" Hermione asked. She beamed at him. "I must say, I'm not as nervous as I once was."

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Lady Hermione," the prince replied, reaching for her hand and placing a soft kiss to it. He rose as Hermione stood. "Please keep the book as a gift."

"I couldn't—" Hermione began, attempting to give the book back.

"I insist," he replied. He bowed stiffly before turning and walking across the library, leaving her alone with Harry.

"So… that's Prince Ronald, is it?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded. "He has no betrothed, so it has to be," she replied, hugging the book against her chest. "I'm ready to do this. The last few minutes have been wonderful and I think I'll be happy being married to him."

...oOo…

Hermione smiled as she walked into the solar room, her eyes falling on the two sets of parents. She curtseyed before the King and Queen before the pair told her to rise and take a seat.

Hermione slipped into the seat next to her father, her eyes meeting Harry's from where he stood at the side of the room. She knew Harry would have seen that there had been a spark between her and the handsome prince, and his smirk confirmed it.

"Lady Hermione," the Queen began in a motherly tone, smiling kindly at her. "My husband and I have been discussing with your mother and father about the contract, and we have all agreed to tell you the reason behind the private meeting."

Hermione nodded slightly.

"My son has broken one of the clauses of the contact," Queen Molly continued.

"Which one?" Hermione asked softly, wondering if they were going to call off the contact. She clasped her hands together nervously as they rested on her lap.

"The chastity clause," the Queen replied. "Your parents have insisted that this doesn't matter, and you would still be interested in the marriage. Is this so?"

Hermione quickly thought about it. Though she felt the initial shock of finding out that her prince had bedded another, she couldn't be too angry at him. It was before they met and before they had connected in the library. She was sure that he wouldn't do something like that after signing the marriage contract.

"I'm still interested," she murmured.

"Of course my son will be reminded of his duties," Molly continued. "He will not act like this again." She looked behind Hermione. "Perkins, can you please send Ronald in?"

Hermione resisted turning around to see her prince, but as she glanced at Harry, she noticed he was frowning. Something was wrong.

When the prince came into her line of sight, her eyes widened slightly. No. This wasn't right. She clutched the book tighter in her hand.

This couldn't be Ronald. She met Harry's gaze again before he slipped out of sight. Hermione turned her attention to Prince Ronald.

"Lady 'Mione," he said, grinning at her. "It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"It is nice to meet you too," Hermione replied.

"So, should we sign this agreement and get out of here…" Prince Ronald glanced at the Queen as she cleared her throat pointedly. "Oh, I mean… would you like to go for a walk in the gardens with me once we've signed? I'll show you around, show you where the kitchens are if you'd like?"

"I… yes," she murmured, glancing towards the Queen and King for a moment. "I would like to see the gardens."

The King and Queen smiled at her, and her parents looked relieved. The marriage contract was passed to her and Hermione began to read it.

"You don't need to read through it, dearest," Hermione's mother said. "Your father has read it himself."

"Let her read it," Arthur insisted with a grin. "Then your daughter knows what she's agreeing to."

Hermione felt dread slowly work its way up inside of her as she read through the contract. She didn't believe in soulmates or destinies… but a small part of her believed that things happened for a reason. Why did she meet one prince in the library only to find out she was to marry another?

As she got closer to the end of the contact, she heard the doors open behind her. She looked over her shoulder and couldn't help but smile in relief at the sight of the other prince: the one from the library. The smile quickly faded as she recalled the information she had read. All the other princes were betrothed already.

"Mother, Father," the prince said. He turned a frosty gaze to his brother. "I'm here to discuss this contract."

"It's not got anything to do with you, Percy," Ronald muttered, glaring at his brother.

"I have to disagree," Percy said. Hermione noticed Harry returning to the side of the room before looking back at the princes. She recalled that Prince Percival was to marry Lady Lavender Brown.

"I had the pleasure of meeting Lady Hermione in the library earlier," Percy began, glancing her way briefly. "And I believe that it's tradition for the oldest to be matched first?"

"You're already matched, Dear," Queen Molly replied.

"I'm not," Percy insisted. "Lady Lavender broke the contact with Ronald. I have a suggestion. I feel that Lady Lavender and Ronald are a better match for each other. I believe that Lady Hermione and I are very well suited."

"Now Percy, that's—" Molly began.

"My Dear?" King Arthur said, causing Molly to go silent. "Percy has made a valid point. Both Lady Lavender and Ronald have shown disrespect to their intended with their dalliance. It means the contracts can be withdrawn."

"But Lord Brown will not accept having his daughter marry our sixth son," Molly replied, frowning slightly.

"He would," the king insisted. "We would of course have to inform him of the reason why the contract is nullified. He can choose to marry Lady Lavender to a prince now, or attempt to find her another suitable husband, though with her dalliance, he'll find it difficult to do so. As Ron was the cause of this, he should take responsibility for his actions."

"I was told I'd get to marry Lady Hermione," Ron replied crossly.

Percy stared at him. "If you're so eager to marry her, perhaps you shouldn't have bedded my intended," he replied coolly. "Perhaps instead of us discussing it, we should ask lady Hermione what _she_ wants? We could allow her to choose her own husband."

Hermione looked between everyone uncertainly. She was scared of upsetting someone.

Arthur looked between his sons for a moment before turning his attention to Hermione. "That is an excellent idea," he agreed.

"Dear, it's your choice," Molly offered, seeing the doubt in her eyes. "Whichever of my sons you choose, the contract will be signed today and the wedding will take place next month. Of course, we don't blame you for any of this." She turned her gaze to Ron, shooting him a sharp look before smiling back at Hermione.

She glanced at Ron before turning her gaze to Percy. He looked nervous yet hopeful, and she couldn't help but smile at him. He returned the smile.

Arthur watched the exchange, and his gaze moved to the book in Hermione's hand. They had been told when the Grangers came in that Hermione had requested to go to the library, and Arthur quickly deduced that she had met Percy in there. After all, he recognised the cover of the book as one Percy read often. He turned back to the Grangers. "Is that acceptable? All of the same terms, just a different prince?"

"As long as our daughter is happy," Lord Granger said, reaching for the quill to sign his name. He passed the quill to Hermione and she didn't hesitate in putting her own name on the parchment.

Arthur signed next, and Percy scrawled his own name on the parchment whilst Ron stormed out of the room.

"I'm sure they have business to discuss regarding the arrangements. Would you like to wait in the library with me?" Percy requested.

"I'd love to," Hermione replied, unable to stop smiling. She took his offered arm and allowed him to lead them from the room with Harry following behind. "You never told me who you were earlier. I thought you were Prince Ronald."

"You did?" Percy replied, looking surprised. "My apologies. I thought I had told you, please excuse my manners. I must admit, I was very disappointed when you said you weren't so nervous about the marriage. I thought you were talking about my brother. Were you talking about me?"

Hermione nodded. "I was," she replied. "When Prince Ronald sat down at the table, I… I couldn't believe it! I must admit I was disappointed it wasn't you."

"It's a good thing your chaperone came to find me in the library and told me to interrupt, and request you marry me instead," Percy stated. "I've only known you for a short time, but I already know that it would have been torture to see you on my brother's arm. For the first time since it happened, I'm thankful for what he did with my fiancée. It left me free to marry you instead."

"I'm glad too," Hermione murmured.

"And forgive me for being so forward, but I'm actually looking forward to our wedding. In the meantime, perhaps you could tell me about some of your other favourite books?"

"Only if you tell me about yours," Hermione insisted.

* * *

 _Review Please :)_


	16. HermioneLucius for Sara

Written for:

Gift Giving Gala - Dedicated to Sunset Whispers - Prompts: Hermione/Lucius, scenario: they bump into each other or she sees him on his release from Azkaban and he apologises for not doing anything to save her.

Jewel Day Challenge - Write about Hermione Granger

* * *

 **A New Start**

 **Hermione/Lucius**

* * *

Hermione tried not to shiver as she glanced at the large manor. With the summer sun shining on it, it looked less imposing than she remembered. The flowers and light breeze made for a more pleasant visit this time around. Well, anything would be an improvement on how she remembered the place. It was the memories of what she had endured that still gave her nightmares.

The gates stood open and that eased Hermione's panic slightly. It made her feel less trapped, less like they were going to suddenly spring shut and stop her from getting away.

She allowed one last look at the place that caused her sleepless nights before striding up to the building. After all, she was here to conquer her fears. She wasn't going to let Lucius Malfoy of all people think that he still held power over her in the form of that terror.

...oOo...

Hermione knocked firmly on the door and took a step back. Her hands were shaking slightly and she was forcing herself to take some deep breaths to calm. After a moment, she frowned at the door. Lucius wasn't the type to keep a guest waiting, she imagined. Even if the guest was just a Mudblood who went to school with his son. Lucius Malfoy was the sort of man who wanted to show people how proper he could be.

She knocked again, louder this time. Perhaps he was going to make her wait five minutes since she was five minutes early?

"Miss Granger."

She spun around, shocked at the sound of her name being called.

"Mr Malfoy?"

He had the decency to look slightly guilty. "I have arranged tea in the garden," he said.

"Not inside?" Hermione asked.

"I'm certain that place holds little in the way of pleasant memories. I did not invite you here to taunt you with the horrors my home has caused you. It is a pleasant day and I will have tea brought to us in a part of this place that perhaps will show you that my home isn't just that of nightmares."

Hermione stiffened. What did he know about the nightmares?

She opened her mouth to speak, but Lucius had already turned and started to lead the way down the nearby path. Hermione followed warily. She hadn't expected Lucius to be pleasant towards her and it had really thrown her.

...oOo...

The pair sat down at a small table set up under a canopy. The seats had a wonderful view of the gardens, but Hermione was watching Lucius pour the tea. She knew there was nothing in her cup and made sure that Lucius used everything that she was using. She couldn't trust him.

She stirred the tea he had poured, once the milk and sugar was added, and took a moment to observe him. He still looked arrogant and acted as though he owned the world, but there was a tiredness to him as though he was just ready to give up.

"My Malfoy?" she asked, setting the cup down.

"Under circumstances, you are welcome to call me Lucius," he began.

Hermione wondered if Lucius Malfoy was under the imperius curse or if someone was doing a terrible job of polyjuicing into him. She remained silent.

"I invited you here because I'm not allowed to leave," he continued. "Otherwise I would have met you at a place of your choosing, somewhere that wouldn't have you so ill-at-ease."

"What is it you want from me?"

"Truthfully? Your forgiveness," he replied swiftly. "But that's a large thing to request after what has happened. What I called you here for is to offer my apology for everything that was caused in my home, by me or by another. I… I stood by and watched and I know you hate me now and hated me that day for not intervening, and all I can do is tell you that I'm sorry."

Hermione watched him carefully. Lucius was a slippery man, able to get into anyone's good graces, but there was something about him that told her he was being truthful and that he was truly sorry for all of his actions. It didn't forgive for what she had gone through, but she had never truly blamed him for what Bellatrix did.

From his expression, Hermione decided that she trusted the apology. He would gain nothing from it. Harry had already stood up for the Malfoy family at their trials, leaving Lucius on house-arrest, Draco to be pardoned and Narcissa to be allowed to leave for her home in France with no repercussions. Lucius was wandless now and was being monitored.

All he had to gain was a lessening of guilt within him and Hermione could grant him that.

"I forgive you," she said. Surprised grey eyes met hers.

"The war is behind us and I hope this has all changed you. Resenting you and hating you won't help any of us get past what's happened, so I forgive you.

His lips curved into a smile. "Thank you, Miss Granger," he said. "I cannot tell you what difference that makes."

"I'm sure I understand," she replied, reaching for her tea again. "You have a lovely garden."

"The whole manor used to be lovely," he replied, his smile slipping. "But maybe one day I can restore it to its former glory. Perhaps one day the evil that lingers in… that set of rooms will be erased."

"Perhaps it will," Hermione agreed. "If you fill those rooms with joy and love instead, evil won't have a place there."

She felt his eyes on her again. "I don't just take tea out here," he said. "I can arrange dinner too."

"Dinner?" Her eyes widened slightly at the offer.

"To celebrate a new start," Lucius said with a nod of his head. "A celebration of putting the past behind us where it belongs. I assure you that the sunset is beautiful from where we're sitting."

Hermione smiled. "I'm sure I'll enjoy that very much," she found herself saying.

Harry and Ron were going to kill her for sticking around to have dinner and watch the sunset, but Hermione couldn't help it. She couldn't say no to the offer. She found herself eager to see the new side of Lucius Malfoy.

* * *

 **Review Please :)**


	17. JamesRegulus for Emily

Written for:

Emily for GGE - Regulus/James, Assassin!AU

Shop for a Prompt - Muggle!AU

Build Your Cube Challenge - Blue: Tremble

Acrostic-y Challenge - A - Assassin!AU

* * *

 **An Unexpected Day**

James/Regulus

 _Dedicated to Emily_

* * *

Another empty glass was pushed forward on the bar and James stared at it, losing himself in thought.

He was having a bad day. No, that was an understatement. A bad few months would be more accurate. If he could think of a word that covered five months and six days, that would be the best, though out of that time, the previous thirty-one days had sucked the most.

For that time, he had been seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The end of the marriage and the start of a new life, but each time, his wife—well, ex-wife now—stuck her heels in and did _something_ to ruin everything. It had taken five months for the divorce to come through.

James sighed and fiddled with his beer mat as he waited for the bartender to come back around to him. His divorce papers burned a hole in his pocket and it felt like they were burning his skin. He half expected to find the words forever on his chest once he changed from his clothes that evening. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to carry them around with him, but it was like a reminder that he was free and single once more. That the horror of the last few months was finally over.

Kate had fought the divorce. Of course she had. James Potter from five months and _seven_ days ago had been a brilliant man. Successful and rich. Well, he was still rich according to the prenuptial his father had practically forced upon the pair when they had announced the marriage, but what did money matter when the wife he loved more than anything had been having an affair for the best part of three years?

What did love matter when she tried to pass the child off as his, only for him to find the paperwork when tidying up. Only to find out that she was six weeks more pregnant than she claimed, according to the doctors notes.

Six weeks prior placed him in America… but she had told him that their passion-filled reunion was the cause of the pregnancy. He hadn't even considered this to be a lie.

In fact, James had been overjoyed at the idea of becoming a father, but once he found out that he wasn't, he started watching. He wanted to believe she would never do that to him. Watching led him to return home early to find another man on their sofa, doing things to his wife that only he should be allowed to do. They didn't even close the curtains. If a neighbour looked at a certain angle, they'd have seen. It had only been a week since he found out that the baby's dates didn't add up.

The disregard for this told James that it had been going on for longer than expected. That she was so comfortable in her deceit that she didn't think she'd get caught.

The drink found it's way to James' lips once more and he barely registered the burn in his throat. Today was the end of his old life. Today was about a new start. It was about him being single and not having to answer to his wife.

He wasn't a husband anymore. Not a soon-to-be father. He didn't work at the Anderson firm as their top salesman. He was done with that family completely. He was cutting every tie with them that he could. He only worked there because of Kate's claims that her father's business _needed_ him.

Today was the first day of his new life. He _should_ be out celebrating with friends but all of his friends were also Kate's friends and we're very sympathetic to her seeing as how she was pregnant and abandoned. He didn't know the story she was spinning. All he knew was that anyone who didn't even bother to ask his side, didn't deserve an explanation. They didn't deserve him. He had only ever supported them whenever they needed it. Helped out financially when they were in trouble. He had even babysat their kids.

 _Screw them_ , he thought bitterly. This was his new life. He didn't need any disloyal friends. He didn't need anyone.

He smiled tiredly as the bartender approached him and ordered another whisky.

...oOo...

James was feeling a nice buzz from his drinks that had taken his mind off his previous life before that day. He knew not to make a habit of it, but the alcohol made him forget. Forgetting, even for a moment, was important to him. He needed to forget and get over everything. He knew the divorce was his choice and that it was what he wanted, but things still hurt him.

He couldn't understand how his sweetheart - the girl he fell in love with at sixteen, could do this to him.

He was interrupted from his misery at the sound of the chair nearby scraping across the floor. Wondering who was making such a noise, he turned his head. His eyes widened at the sight. He watched as a man gracefully slipped into the bar-seat nearby and glanced at his watch. Though the man didn't look at James, James could see enough of his face to know that he was utterly gorgeous. Usually James would admire men and women alike, but he would never consider approaching them. Not whilst he was married. _He_ would never stray. But now he didn't have that problem.

It had been over five months since he last had sex. He had been tempted to have one night stands over that period, but it always felt wrong when he left his flat to go to a bar. It felt like, if he was married and slept with someone, he was doing what Kate did. Even though he was separated and applied for divorce. But today was the new start and he was free to go over there and flirt. He was free to offer to buy the man a drink and chat him up.

He stared for a minute, trying to get up the nerve to go over to the man. He felt like it had been so long since he had needed to flirt and was out of practice. He ran through things to say and dismissed all of them. They all sounded stupid or would make the guy walk away. James needed something either amazing or cheesy enough to make the guy stick around.

The guy turned to look at him and his gaze dragged over James before the corners of his lips turned up ever so slightly. James felt emboldened by the look he had received. It was the jumper, he knew. Kate never appreciated his style and now, thankfully, he could wear whatever he wanted… and whatever he wanted fit perfectly. No complaints about the hair products he used, or about his glasses being slightly crooked because he accidentally sat on them and kept putting off going to the opticians.

The fact that the person he felt attracted to was a man, helped. James didn't lump all women in with Kate, but she had betrayed him and he felt that spending time with another man would be easier than a woman. That's why he had ended up in _that_ bar in the middle of the week - because the only people who would chat him up would be men. He trusted men more right now. A man wouldn't get pregnant with another's child. A man wouldn't do what Kate did.

Deep down, he knew a woman wouldn't either, but he wasn't ready to find out.

James studied the man's face for a long moment, taking in the clear grey eyes that were fixed on him and the high cheekbones. Short strands of dark hair framed his face, with the longer parts pulled back at the nape of his neck. He didn't look like he was only after a one-night stand and James hoped maybe he could get the guy's number at the very least. James wasn't really into the idea of one-night stands, but he'd take whatever this man could offer him, no matter how little or how much. He didn't want to overthink what it could lead to because he had just left a marriage and didn't want to get ahead of himself.

He could do this. He clumsily got out of his seat and moved to the next one at the bar, his eyes fixed on the other man. He told himself not to overthink it. Just say the first thing that came to mind. It couldn't be that bad.

"I've been watching you and trying to figure out a way to make you say 'take me now daddy'—" James began.

The man snorted. "That was awful."

"Yeah?" James was proud of his bad pickup lines, though he wasn't quite sure where that pick-up line had come from. They filtered out the people who didn't have a sense of humour. "Well, I'm here. What'll be your next wish?"

The man's eyebrows raised and the amused smile widened. James decided to give it one more shot. Baseball rules. Three strikes before you're out, right? And the guy hadn't actually turned him down or acted disgusted which was a sign that he was doing well.

James glanced at the watch on his wrist and smirked. "My magical watch said you're not wearing underwear."

"Well your magical watch is wrong," the man replied. He slipped his finger into the waistband of his trousers and tugged a pair up so it was showing slightly.

"Oh." James glanced at the watch before nodding slowly. "My mistake. It's an hour fast."

The man chuckled at the line. "I've been expecting you."

James perked up. The man liked the pickup lines. He still had it.

"So, wanna get out of here?" the guy continued.

James nodded eagerly. "Sure. I'm James." He held out his hand to shake the other man's.

The guy looked at his hand for a moment. "Reg," he replied, taking James' hand and shaking it. James could only stare at their joined hands. His skin felt like it was tingling at Reg's very touch. "Not to be presumptuous or anything, but you have protection, right Or do we need to go and get something?"

Reg nodded his head. "Don't worry, I always carry protection," he murmured.

James grinned at him. "Then what are we waiting for?" he asked. Reg got up from his seat as gracefully as he had sat down and the two drinks were left unfinished as James followed him from the bar, his gaze lingering on the man's arse. It must be as firm as it looked and he couldn't wait to find out.

...oOo...

Things were very quiet as the pair left the bar and began walking. James fell into step next to his 'date' for the night (and perhaps longer).

"So,"he began nervously, trying to start a conversation between the pair. "I don't usually end up in bars in the middle of the week."

"I hear you," Reg replied. "Though I prefer to keep weekends to myself so plan weekdays. It was good that you were there."

"Yeah. I'm glad… I just… I just separated from my last partner. It was made final today. It's been a long thing," James explained before silently scolding himself. There was nothing more off-putting than mentioning an ex. Even though he desperately wanted someone to talk to about it, he didn't want to scare this guy away.

Reg nodded, seeming unconcerned at James' words. "I have to admit that I've never struggled with changing partners. They must have meant a lot to you. So you're looking for someone else…"

"Yeah. I mean… I don't do this often. It's rare that I…"

A flicker of annoyance crossed the man's face and James wondered if he should stop before he said something wrong and ruined things. "But my skill is excellent," he added quickly. "Don't you worry about that, I'll be able to perform well."

Reg's smile appeared once more. "Well, I was planning on taking the lead tonight. Don't worry, I'll help you get over your partner and show you that you can work just as well with someone else. Maybe even learn some new techniques. What do you think?"

"That sounds… perfect!" James said. He tried to hide the slight nerves. Techniques! The man was clearly kinky if he had techniques. Thankfully he was willing to teach them. James could handle anything at all.

...oOo...

 _A man with dark hair and glasses walked into the bar and looked around. His contact has pointed him in the direction of a man with longish black hair and grey eyes, wearing a dark-blue shirt. The man was supposed to meet him at the bar, but he was running a few minutes later than planned._

 _There was no-one fitting that description at the place and he glanced towards the bar. There were two half-filled glasses on the counter and wondered if his contact had gone to the loo or out for a smoke._

 _He headed to the end of the bar and took a seat, pulling at his ugly jumper. His contact had advised him what the code was. Glasses. Ugly top. Bad chat-up lines._

 _He caught the bartender's attention. He may as well order a drink whilst he waited for his contact to arrive. Perhaps his contact was running later than he was?_

...oOo...

This was it, James thought, as they stopped outside of the hotel room. He wasn't quite sure why Reg insisted he keep his hood up but he was willing to do whatever asked. "Don't make a sound," Reg murmured.

James nodded his head. It was late after all and they didn't want to wake anyone on the nearby rooms. He watched as his date slipped a card into the lock, making the light flicker green, before he slowly pulled the handle down.

He slipped into the dark room and James followed. The door slowly closed, clicking closed almost silently behind them. He glanced hopefully towards the bed, freezing at the sight of a man laying in it, fast asleep.

"That man is asleep," James whispered, feeling the need to point it out. Perhaps they were in the wrong room?

Reg nodded. "I thought as much," he whispered. He turned his attention to James and James silently panicked. If Reg knew the man was going to be here, that completely changed what he thought was going to happen that night. Reg was clearly kinkier than he thought, bringing him back to his hotel room when he already had someone there. Did that mean they were supposed to have a threesome?

Well, it was a new start and he was free and single. Yes. He could do this. Probably. "I'm ready," he murmured to himself. He could do this. He had always been curious about how a threesome would go, not that he would have ever considered it with Kate of course. But if this was just a short-term thing, he'd give it a try at least.

He turned his eyes back towards Reg. waiting for him to go and wake the other man up, but his eyes widened at the sight of the weapon.

"That's a gun."

"What, don't tell me you're the strangulation type," Regulus replied, glancing over his shoulder at James. "But yes, it's a gun. It's a Beretta 92G-SD."

"I'm more into lights off and missionary," James admitted feeling like this was going too far. Threesomes - yes. Strangulation - no. There was a line after all. "I don't know… a Beretta?"

"A combat pistol," Regulus whispered, rolling his eyes. He turned back to his target and pulled the trigger.

James flinched at the sound and he could only watch in horror as the bullet hit the man right in the forehead. "I guess I didn't need you here after all," Regulus muttered. "Not since he was asleep. I thought this would have been harder." He put the gun away and turned his full attention to James. "Come before someone calls the police. We'll lay low until my brother gets in contact about the next one."

"I guess we're not having a threesome after all," James whispered in horror.

The man chuckled as though James had been joking. "Come on. Someone would have heard something." He grabbed James' hand and pulled him out of the room and towards the stairs. James followed with no resistance, still in shock at what he had witnessed.

As they ran, James found himself wondering why on Earth he was running rather than sticking around to call the police.

...oOo...

They had ran a couple of miles and James was very breathless. He wasn't sure why he was self-conscious of this, especially since the other man wasn't panting at all. He was quite fit from the gym and his workouts, so he decided to put it down to shock and stress from what he had just witnessed. His body was shaking hard and he willed his hands not to tremble. He wanted to appear in control of himself even though he certainly wasn't.

"What the hell was that?" James finally asked. "What happened back there?"

"What do you mean?" Regulus asked, raising his eyebrows. "Didn't my brother fill you in on my style. We did agree I'd take the lead."

"I didn't sign up for killing someone," James insisted weakly.

"You… you did." Regulus was weary now. "You were told to meet me in the bar. You were told—"

"I went to that bar for a drink. You're gorgeous. I chatted you up and you invited me to come with you. I thought… you took me to a hotel room. I thought…"

Regulus stared for a long time. "At the very least, you are now an accessory to murder," he said carefully. "We need to decide what to do and quickly. Are you going back there to turn me in or are you coming with me to lay low?"

"Why did you kill him?"

"I was hired to. He's not a good man, James. I don't kill good men. If I did, I'd have a gun on your right now."

"So you're like a vigilante? Killing the bad ones?" James asked, trying to make sense of things. "Like what sort of people?"

"Child molesters, wife-beaters. Murderers who get away with it. The ones where they leave victims. The ones where their lawyer manages to twist things and get a deal cut. The ones where the families want revenge. We do our research and we take out the scum of the world."

James took a deep breath and then another, trying to process the information. Okay. Reg killed bad people. He was making the world a better place a little bit, right?

Regulus watched him process for a minute, but grabbed James' shoulder when the faint sound of sirens filled the air.

"Look, we need to—"

"I live nearby," James said, snapping back to attention. "Come on, we can hide out in my place for a while. You said you were waiting to hear from someone, right. Well, my place would be better than a hotel room."

Regulus smiled. "Why are you helping me?" he asked, as James led the way down the street.

"Maybe because, even though you just killed someone, I don't think I'm ready to lose you just yet," James said, As they walked, his fingers brushed against Reg's, he bravely reached out and took Regulus' hand.

Regulus looked surprised but he didn't pull his hand away and James counted that as a good sign. Maybe there was hope for them after all.

...oOo...

James kicked his shoes off as he walked into his house. He frowned at the light in the other room. He was certain he had turned off the lights.

"Nice house," Regulus remarked.

"Yeah. It belongs to my parents but they retired out of the country. Their ownership of it kept it safe."

Regulus knelt down and started undoing his shoes.

"So… why was the gun loud? I mean, not loud, but I thought that you'd use a silencer or something."

"A silencer muffles the sound, it doesn't take it all away," Regulus pointed out. "So. You must trust me if you're allowing me to see where you live?"

James shrugged. "Or maybe I'm so lonely, I'd rather have a hired killer to hang out with than be alone?"

Regulus smiled at him. "Any other man would run in the other direction, yet you're inviting me home I think you're more insane than my brother."

James shrugged and smiled. "Maybe I am," he agreed. He shrugged off his jacket and hung it up along with Regulus. "Come on, I bet you're tired. I certainly am."

"A little," Regulus admitted. "Though I'm sure I can stay awake a little while." His eyes dragged down James' body. "What did you think I meant earlier? You thought I was interested?"

James didn't miss the way Regulus look at him and realised the evening was looking up. "Well, you were amused by my chat-up lines," James murmured, stepping closer to Regulus. "You were talking about teaching me things… what did you want to teach me?"

"I hope you were joking about the lights off and vanilla," Regulus replied with a smirk. "Because I'm anything but vanilla."

James swallowed nervously but nodded. "Whatever you want, Reg."

"Regulus," Regulus murmured. "My real name is Regulus."

"Why are you telling me this?" James asked.

"Because that's what I want to hear when we go to bed," Regulus murmured, no trace of amusement on his face. "I want to hear my proper name."

James shifted closer and nodded his head. "So… I'd offer to show you around or get you a drink or something, but I think we're both in agreement to what happens next." He led the way to his bedroom, his heart racing and threw the door open.

"I don't share," Regulus said from next to him, his eyes scouring the woman dozing on the bed.

"Kate? What… what are you doing here?" James asked loudly, frowning at the figure.

The woman was startled and she blinked a few times, trying to wake up.

"I'll be waiting in the living room," Regulus muttered unhappily. "You can explain why you never mentioned a pregnant—"

"Wait." James grabbed his arm and pulled the documents from the inside jacket pocket, that he had been carrying around with him all evening. He placed them in Regulus' hand. "Whilst you wait, take a look. It'll explain… well, some stuff."

Regulus disappeared and James turned his attention to Kate who was trying to get up from the bed with a struggle due to the large bump.

"James!"

"Get out," James ordered coldly.

She stared. "It's two-am. You can't expect me to leave now. Not in this state." Her hands moved to her stomach.

"You should have thought of that before you came here," he replied. "I don't know how you got inside this place but I want you gone. You're not my problem anymore." He turned and walked away from the bedroom, hoping that his ex would get the hint. She followed him to the kitchen quickly, faster than a woman with a bump that large should be able to move.

"I still love you," she said, grabbing for his arm. James shook her off and moved around the table, putting the furniture between them.

"It doesn't matter," he replied. "If you really loved me, you wouldn't have had an affair. Love is between two people, Kate. Love is something for a man and his wife, not—"

"Yet you brought a man back here," she said, tears in her eyes.

"I'm not in love with him, but love is between two people, no matter the gender. There is no excuse for cheating. You betrayed me and kept doing it. You tried to pass another man's child off as my own. You treated me like a fool and I ran around after you doing everything possible to make you happy. The idea of being a father… I was so happy, Kate."

"You could still be. We could be happy again," she began urgently.

"What? Did _he_ leave you too?" James let out a jaded laugh. "That's why you're here. He's happy to have his fun with you, but faced with a pregnant woman who wants a relationship and for him to accept responsibility for his child and he ran." He could see from look on her face that he was right and there was a cruel sense of joy building inside, overtaking the hurt. Part of him was glad that she was suffering too. He knew it was childish to feel like that, but he couldn't help himself.

"You're poison, Kate," he snarled. " _He_ could see it and he was smart enough to run when he could. I would have given you the world once upon a time but you destroyed what we had and there's not a single chance for us again. I could never forgive you or trust you. I could never be with you. I don't want you as part of my life. I'd only be happy if I never saw you again."

"James."

"You heard the man," Regulus said from the doorway, his grey eyes looking at her in disdain. "He said leave."

"And who are you to tell me—"

"I'm his future partner," Regulus stated. "James had the decency to wait until the divorce to get involved with anyone, but he's mine now. In fact, we were just about to celebrate our relationship in bed. Unfortunately the sight of you was a large turn-off for both of us. I'm not into threesomes, nor do I plan to share him, so I suggest you leave."

"Or what."

"Or I'll make a call to your father," James threatened. "And the police. I'll get a restraining order on you, Kate. Even if they won't give me one, it'll be public knowledge that I tried. How will that look for your father's business?"

Kate's lip wobbled and James almost felt sorry for her. In the past, that look would have had him running around after her, trying to make her happy again but not this time. He hardened himself against the emotions that he was used to - protecting her, comforting her.

Instead he reached for the phone and began to dial.

"No," she shouted, backing up. "I… I'm leaving."

Regulus moved ahead of her and into the hallway. He opened the front door and looked at her pointedly.

She shot James one last longing look and James sighed. "I'll call you a cab," he muttered, pulling out his wallet and grabbing a couple of notes. He moved closer and shoved them in her hand. "Take care of yourself and the baby, but this is the end, Kate. I don't want to see you again."

...oOo...

James watched from the window until he saw her get in the taxi. He watched her speak to the driver briefly before climbing in the back.

He headed into the kitchen silently and twelve minutes later, his phone chimed. He knew it was Kate. He knew her well enough to know that she was texting that she got home safe. He didn't care that she contacted him one last time. Her sending that message was her nature. She hadn't always been a cruel women.

The chair next to him scraped as it was pulled out and a hand touched his. "Talk to me," Regulus murmured.

"I accept the marriage is over. I'm the one who left her," James murmured in reply. "But I loved her more than anything. I would have given her anything she desired. I can't understand where I went wrong. I don't understand where the woman I fell in love went. How she turned into someone who'd try to pass another man's child off as mine."

Regulus offered no guesses and James was glad of that. It helped, just talking and getting the words out. He had no friends to talk to and his parents were living in France where they retired. They knew of the divorce but James didn't want them to know the rest of it. The pair sat in silence for a while before Regulus took James' hand in his own.

"Maybe today is just the end of your old life. Your divorce was finalised and you had closure with your ex. Maybe the new start is tomorrow when we wake up together?"

James smiled at the idea. "I know we were…"

"Tomorrow," Regulus insisted. "I think maybe we should just sleep for now. I'm in no rush to leave. I might stick around for a few days."

"Yeah?" James asked, hopefully.

Regulus nodded. "If you want me to. Was this just a pick-up in a bar, or was it something else?"

"I don't know what it was, but I'm not the type to have a one-night stand. I'd like if you stuck around in whatever capacity you'd like."

Regulus grinned at him. "I'd kiss you right now, but I think I'll wait until tomorrow. A new start, right?"

"Right," James murmured. He led Regulus to the bedroom. "You can sleep in here if you like," he said, starting to strip down. When he didn't get an answer, he turned. Regulus had already stripped to his boxers and was sliding into the bed.

James stared at him. He didn't know how he would be able to wait until the next day. He didn't say anything as he climbed into bed next to the other man.

He smiled as a body moved closer to his and it wasn't long before Regulus had pulled him close.

"You know, I could get used to this," James whispered.

"It's strange. I don't usually get intimate with people. I hate hiding who I am and what I do. You already know what I do and you didn't run."

"I may not approve… I like you, Regulus. I'm sure we can find a way to make this work, whatever this is between us."

Regulus smiled and leaned in, letting his lips brush against James' softly. James tried to follow Regulus as he pulled away, but Regulus shook his head. "Tomorrow," Regulus murmured, before yawning. "Time to go asleep."

* * *

Word Count: 5043

Review Please :)


	18. JamesRegulus for WolfWinks

Written for

GGE for WolfWinks - Prompts: James/Regulus, AU.

Heroes Hunt - write about someone determined for success.

Shop for a Prompt - Muggle!AU

Build Your Cube - White: Sirius Black

Endless Possibilities Challenge - James Potter, Object: mirror, Object:window, Object: chair

* * *

The Tattooist Next Door

Tattoo Artist!AU

James/Regulus (with WolfStar)

For Wolf :)

* * *

There was a new tattoo shop that had opened.

James liked to spy on the new tattoo shop from his and his friend, Remus' chocolate shop. It was next door and if he hung out by the doors enough, he would catch a glimpse of the dark-haired beauty that owned it.

The man was elegant. There were no other words more fitting. With his dark hair pulled into a tidy ponytail at the nape of his neck, a tidiness James could never hope to achieve, and his high cheekbones and sharp eyes, James had never been so captivated by anyone before. Not even through school where he had fancied himself in love with Lily Evans. (That had not ended well at all).

So James took note of what he could about the man, wondering if he'd ever be brave enough to go inside and meet with him.

A couple of weeks later, he noticed signs being put up above the shop facing the tattoo parlour across the road. James watched as shutters went up and a welcome sign was put out.

 _Padfoot's Primroses_ was now in business and it had a much better view into _Black Ink_ than _Moony's Munchies_ did. So the day it opened, James found his way across the road and into the flower shop, where he came face to face with a man who was almost identical to the man he had been harbouring a probably not so secret crush on for the best part of a fortnight.

"Hey. You're from the chocolate shop. Tell me his name!"

That wasn't what James expected. He had assumed he would be warned away from watching the tattooist, but the man with the messy bun and two flowers shoved haphazardly into the bun didn't seem concerned with that.

"Who?" James found himself asking which was a stupid question. There was only one other person at the chocolate shop after all.

"Your boss… employee… that guy." He pointed across the road to where Remus was walking out of the store with a little bistro table and setting it down. The man almost shoved James out of the way for a better look. "Is he single? Are you dating him because you're always there. Tell me everything you know about him."

James chuckled. "I came over here to introduce myself actually. I'm not dating him, he's my best friend. I'm James Potter."

"I'm Sirius Black," Sirius failed to drag his eyes from Remus. "Merlin, I bet he'd just fuck me into the mattress. He's that sort, isn't he?"

"I… I wouldn't know," James muttered, not wanting to ever know if Remus was 'that sort' or not. "So, flower shop?"

"Yup," Sirius said, tearing his eyes away now that Remus had headed back into the chocolate shop. "Tell me. Does he always wear those cardigans?"

"Yes he does," James confirmed. "Look, do you want me to just send him over so you can chat him up?"

"Nah. I'll find my way over to him," Sirius confirmed. "So, James. Do you work there too?"

"I'm the owner but Remus is the manager," James replied. "Remus can't cook to save his life but what he can do is come up with amazing chocolate. I guess that's his passion in life. That and books."

Sirius was hanging on to his every word. "I'm not telling you anything more because it's your turn," James added.

"My turn?" Sirius was confused.

"Yeah. Is that your brother across the road, and is he single? Am I his type? How do I get his attention?"

Sirius stared at him. "You get his intention by impressing his older brother. To do that, you get said brother a hot date or ten with that Remus guy." Remus reappeared with chairs and James almost fell over as Sirius rushed past him to watch Remus from the window.

Well, it was good to know he wasn't the only one that acted like an idiot when it came to an attractive man..

"I better go and help him," James said. "Nice to meet you, Sirius."

"You too, James. I'll come over soon for a chat or something," Sirius murmured, not turning his head away from the man outside of the chocolate shop. Remus had looked around and had stopped when he met Sirius' gaze. James knew that he was going to get questioned when he got back across the road.

James started to leave but almost jumped when the doorway was blocked by the biggest, scariest man he had ever seen. He began to back up, his eyes widening in panic.

"Hagrid." Sirius turned his attention away for a moment. "Right on time. You can put your jacket in the office and I'll show you how everything works. Take your time though."

"Thanks, Sirius. I can't wait to get started."

James walked away from the shop in shock. He had never seen two people who looked less like they should run a flower shop.

...oOo...

James walked into the shop and grinned at the man who was slowly wiping down one of the mirrors. As the man spotted him, he set down his cloth and turned.

"I want a tattoo," James said.

The man nodded. "You've come to the right place. Now, what would you like?"

"What's your name?" James asked.

"I'm Regulus," the man said, reaching for a book from the table. "Now, do you have something in mind, or—"

"Yes that. Just your name with a little heart." James' grin widened as he dropped into the chair.

Regulus closed the book and set it down. "I'm not tattooing my name on you," he replied, crossing his arms and leaning against the nearby wall. "That is a terrible way to ask me my name."

James shrugged. "You can't blame a man for trying. I got your name though, didn't I?"

The man gave a small smile. "You met my brother yesterday."

"So you do know who I am," James replied eagerly.

"He mentioned you, though it was hard to catch in between the talk of the man next door. Your name did come up briefly. He said you seem like a good guy. But then again, he was pronouncing his love for a man he's seen from a window so I'm not sure I can trust his judgement. He seems to have developed a fetish for cardigans overnight. I'd be concerned if I didn't know my brother so well."

"I am a good guy," James said. "So, Reg…" he trailed off as the door opened and someone walked in.

Regulus smiled at him. "I'll talk to you another time. I've got a customer."

James sighed and left as Regulus walked over to the customer, grabbing the book once more on his way. Regulus clearly would put the customers first so James had to make sure he was Regulus' full focus.

He watched Regulus show the man the book, before leaving.

...oOo...

James waited until the shop was empty to walk in again. Actually, he had to leave the chocolate shop. Sirius had stopped over and James couldn't listen to the awful chat up lines. He couldn't handle seeing the smitten look in Remus' eyes. Of course he wanted his friend to be happy, but there was only so much he could listen to.

"I want a tattoo," James insisted. "A good one. Let me see the book."

"There are none with my name on," Regulus said, amused as he grabbed the book and handed it over. "So, what'd you like?"

James opened the book. "This one is cool," he said, pointing to one at random.

"You want a 'Mum' tattoo?" Regulus stared at him, unable to stop himself smiling.

"Yeah. Why not?" James asked. "So, do you have time now?"

Regulus shook his head. "I'll book you in after lunch. Is three good?"

"Three is fine," James agreed. His mum was going to be thrilled.

...oOo...

James was waiting for Regulus to start when the door opened.

"James darling, I got your phone message about the tattoo. Are you sure about this, dear?"

Dorea Potter walked in, holding the door open. Sirius followed in, staring at her in curiosity.

James was secretly mortified that his mother had just walked in. He was supposed to be showing Regulus that he was a manly man who can withstand the needle-of-death to have his tattoo done, whilst impressing him with better chat up lines than Sirius had been using on Remus.

But he couldn't tell his mother that.

"Yeah. I'd really like a tattoo."

"Dear, the one you described isn't really something I picture you with. Why not pick something else?" she suggested, reaching for the book and flipping through. "These are wonderful. Did you draw them yourself, darling?"

Regulus didn't flinch at being called darling. "My brother drew some of them," he replied.

Dorea turned to where Sirius was hovering. "You're very talented, sweetheart," she said with a smile.

Sirius wandered over. "You're James' mum?" he asked.

She nodded her head and laughed when Sirius reached into his bun and pulled out the rose that was tucked there and handed it to her. "Do you work here too?"

"Oh, I own the flower shop across the street. I'm here as a chaperone," he explained.

Dorea turned to look at her son and then at Regulus. "Oh I see. James, if you want to impress this young man, put more thought into your tattoo. Also, they can be very painful so maybe one that doesn't need to be filled in with colour?"

James sighed. "How would you know, Mum? You don't have a tattoo."

Dorea grinned at him. "I have one, but I'm sure you wouldn't like to see where it is."

James paled at the implication of where his mother's tattoo could be.

"Where is it, Mrs. Potter?" Sirius asked, his eyes widening.

"My inner thigh," she replied. "It's an intricate tattoo with lots of flowers leading up the inside of my thigh."

James decided to cover his ears at this. He didn't need to hear. It wasn't until Regulus pushed the book towards him once more that he moved his hands.

He began to flick through, looking at them more carefully until he stopped by a design that would look great on his back. It was a pair of antlers but they were made up of the tiniest of swirls, dots, and patterns and they were the most amazing thing he had ever seen. He didn't even need to finish looking through the book - he knew that was what he wanted.

"That'll take hours," Regulus said. "I'll have to have you come back to finish."

James nodded his head and took off his top. He didn't miss the way Regulus' gaze dropped briefly, examining him. Sirius let out a pointed cough and Regulus moved to get ready to tattoo James.

"You know, next time you go next door to see Remus, I'm going to be the chaperone," James warned him. "And I'm going to be worse than you."

"You wouldn't do that to me and my Moonpie," Sirius exclaimed, appalled at the idea.

"I would," James threatened. Dorea sat down in the next seat and took his hand and James almost shouted out when he felt the start of the tattoo on his back. Suddenly he was glad his mum was there with him.

"Right… well, I guess _neither of us_ need chaperones," Sirius decided. "I'll be next door in the chocolate shop with my future husband if anyone needs me."

"Is he talking about Remus?" Dorea asked as Sirius rushed out, clearly eager to get to Remus.

"He is," James confirmed.

"How sweet," Dorea murmured. "Remus needs a boyfriend who is so certain of his intentions like that charming boy."

...oOo...

It took three sittings in the end to get the tattoo finished. Thankfully James didn't need Dorea there after the first sitting and used the time to try and charm Regulus. It was hard to do with his teeth clenched in pain.

James was impressed with the work once it was finished and knew that once his back had healed, he'd look even sexier than before.

"Isn't this the part where you ask me to dinner?"

James turned to Regulus in surprise. "What?"

"Well, you've attempted to chat me up for the last few days, but you've not actually asked me on a date. If you did that sooner, we could have avoided the awful chat-up-lines that make me think of the things my brother says way too much. I'd rather you not remind me of my brother because that doesn't do it for me."

"Dinner tonight?"

"I can't tonight, I'm a little busy," Regulus replied with a smile. "But I'm free tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is good. Where can I pick you up?"

"I close tomorrow at seven. Right here," Regulus replied. He walked around James, examining his back. "This is a good choice. No-one has ever picked this before but it suits you. I had my doubts you'd be able to handle it but you've proved me wrong."

"You like it?" James replied. "Maybe I'll get another one."

Regulus snorted. "I don't know if you can handle another, but that's okay because I'll still have dinner with you."

"Great. So… I'll see you tomorrow," James said, grabbing his shirt and putting it over his arm as he left. He headed back to the chocolate shop, only to find Sirius serenading a starry-eyed Remus.

He turned back and headed to the tattoo-parlour once more.

"Sirius?" Regulus asked.

"Sirius," James confirmed.

Regulus gestured to the waiting couch. "Feel free to wait here until he's done. Though, it could take a while."

"Yeah sure. So, tattooist and florist. Very different jobs. How did that happen? And that big scary man too?"

"Oh, that's Hagrid. As for the jobs, well, that's a long story."

"I feel like I have a lot of time for this. Sirius was serenading Remus."

"Yeah. I'd have to agree. You'll be here for a while." Regulus dropped down into a chair and smiled. "But if I tell you this, you have to tell me about you too."

"Deal," James said, grinning at him.

* * *

Review Please :)


	19. SeverusPetunia for Sam

Written for:

Sam for the Monthly exchange. Pairing: Severus/Petunia. Prompt: Light!AU

FRIENDS Challenge: TOW Rachel Has a Baby (Part 2): Write about a single mother

Build Your Cube Challenge - Green: "I don't know what you mean."

* * *

 _The first time I've written this pairing. I hope you like!_

 _Also - it's clearly an AU!_

* * *

 **Not So Alone**

Petunia/Severus

Dedicated to Sam

* * *

Petunia fixed the top button of her blouse, frowning that it had popped open again, before reaching up to fix her short hair. She turned around as her bedroom door creaked open.

"Mummy. Harry wet the floor," Dudley said crossly, pointing a chubby hand behind him, towards the stairs.

Petunia sighed silently before smiling. "Did he miss the potty?" she asked, grabbing Dudley as she passed and heading downstairs to where she had left the children for a few minutes whilst she got changed. She had only been upstairs for five minutes and had left the television on as a distraction.

"I need some new baby-gates," she murmured to herself, uncertain of how Dudley had gotten past them when she was _certain_ they were locked.

She walked over to Harry was standing in the hall, his lip trembling and his eyes wet with tears."Take off your pants," Petunia said, reaching for the small pile of clothes she kept on the sideboard in case of accidents. She grabbed the baby-wipes too, whilst Harry stripped the pants off.

Petunia used the wipes to clean Harry before helping him into clean, dry underwear and sending him on his way. Once he had followed Dudley into the living room, she headed into the kitchen to get her cleaning supplies.

She got down on her hands and knees, mindful of her good skirt and she began to clean.

...oOo...

It was hard work sorting out dinner when the two children were so demanding, but Petunia managed to make a nice casserole and she left it in the oven to stay warm until it was time to eat.

The knock at the door came a few minutes earlier than expected, startling her. She glanced in at the kids in the living room before walking to the front door and opening it.

"Petunia," the man said in greeting, looking slightly out of place on her porch.

"Severus. Come in," Petunia offered, stepping aside to give him space to enter the house.

As Severus entered, Petunia felt a wave of relief at his clothing. Last time he had visited, he had forgotten himself and had worn his robes. Thankfully this time he was wearing a long black coat and black trousers.

"Are you well?" she asked as he removed his coat, hanging it up next to the door. "Would you like a drink?"

"I am. A tea would suffice," he replied. After a moment of silence he cleared his throat. "And you? The boys?"

Petunia smiled. Severus wasn't one for idle chat or niceties but he had been making an attempt at both since his monthly visits had become fortnightly and more recently, weekly. He claimed that he was watching for any accidental magic or any lingering side-effects in Harry, but Petunia thought—hoped—there was more to it than that.

"We're all good. They're in the living room. Go and sit and I'll bring you a cup of tea in. Also, I've made a casserole for dinner. It'll be ready soon."

Severus nodded in reply and Petunia headed back into the kitchen.

...oOo...

 _Petunia pounded on the door, tears drying on her cheeks as she looked down at the basket. She pounded again after a minute had passed and hoped that she was in the right place._

 _Lily's letters had given this address and Petunia had spent an hour searching for the letters that morning. Longer to find the address. There was something about the house that was trying to push her away. Telling her she left her iron on, but she recognised it for some sort of magic that was trying to repel her._

 _She banged again, intent on getting answers. This time, she heard footsteps and the door swung open._

 _A familiar man stood there, his face like thunder and his mouth opened. When he realised who was there, it closed again and he stared. His gaze shifted down to the baby in her arms and the basket at her feet._

 _"Petunia Evans."_

 _"Severus Snape," she replied, her voice shaking._

 _He looked at the basket again._

 _"What kind of man leaves a baby outside on someone's doorstep? He could have frozen to death," she shrieked, her anger finally finding its way out. "He didn't even ask if I'd take the boy in. He just assumed."_

 _Dudley began to cry and Petunia stopped, her eyes widening and she shifted her son into a better position and began to rock him._

 _"This is how I find out I've lost my sister," she hissed. "No one coming to inform me properly, no. A letter saying 'Oh your sister is dead and here's her child. We'll see you in ten years'. What am I supposed to do?"_

 _"You have a husband. Raise them together," Severus replied, his voice not as cold as it used to be. Petunia could see a slight redness to the man's eyes, telling her that she wasn't the only one mourning Lily._

 _"He said... the letter said if I keep the boy… if I keep Harry, he'll leave," she admitted. "I can't."_

 _"Then give your nephew away. Give Lily's child to someone else to raise," Severus said._

 _"You. Will you do it?"_

 _Severus stared at her for a long time. "If you had died, would Lily have given your son away because her husband asked? Potter was… despite everything Potter was, he would never have asked that."_

 _Petunia's breath came out shaky and she pulled Dudley tighter against her. "I don't know if I can do it. Ten years before anyone comes to help. What if he does… those things that Lily did? How do I manage? How do I explain to the neighbours. I can't do this, Severus."_

 _There was a long silence. "You need to decide between Lily's son and your husband. I will be by tomorrow and will… I will offer assistance with your choice. Just know that you are the only person that can protect the child. Your blood runs through him. If he calls your home his own, it will offer him protection that he cannot find anywhere else."_

 _"I will think about it," Petunia muttered, using her other hand to swipe away the tears that were falling._

 _"This small infant relies on you alone to live," Severus added. "Do it for your sister if nothing else."_

...oOo...

"I've only got lemonade left," Petunia said, setting down a jug of lemonade and one of water into the centre of the table. "Sirius and Remus came for dinner yesterday and I haven't had a chance to go shopping."

Severus frowned slightly at the mention of names but didn't otherwise comment which Petunia took as a good sign.

"You seem to be managing better," he replied, instead.

Petunia nodded her head. "I am. It's hard work, but… but now I can't imagine giving my nephew up for anything. I can't believe I even considered that was an option. But with you helping and Sirius and Remus' visits and they introduced me to a nice lady called Molly last week who has offered to watch the children if I ever need… well, I have a lot of support."

Severus smiled. "I am glad," he replied, reaching for the jug of water and pouring a glass. "Perhaps next time Potter's friends turn up, you should make the most of the visit and leave them watching Harry and Dudley and you do what you need to do. You've mentioned before that shopping is difficult with the children."

"But…" she bit at her lip for a second before meeting his gaze. "You said before that Remus…" she lowered her voice as though someone would hear. "That he turns into a wolf."

"Only on the full-moon," Severus assured her. "He's dangerous, but not during the day and when he's here. I don't like Potter's friends but they would never endanger his son."

Petunia nodded, satisfied at Severus' assurance. She trusted him and if he thought two men he hated were safe to be left alone with Harry, than she would take his word.

Dinner moved along quietly, the only noise being the children who were reluctant to eat. But finally the meal was over and Petunia had cleaned the pair.

She wondered if Severus was going to leave quickly as he always did after checking on Harry.

She watched as he followed the boys into the living room and cast the spells to ensure nothing had changed in Harry's health. Everything came back fine and Harry walked off to the bathroom. Petunia went to follow him, but the sound of the television switching on startled her. She spun around, looking at her son and then at Severus.

He shook his head to indicate it wasn't him.

"That must have been Harry. I forgot to mention that he's had a few incidents already. Just three or four."

"Really?" Severus moved closer. "Such as?"

"He left that stuffed stag - the one Sirius gave him and called Prongs - outside in the rain. The next day we went to collect it and even though it was still wet outside, the second Harry grabbed it, it dried. I was still holding it and it was soaked until then."

"That is Harry," Severus murmured. His eyes moved back to Dudley. "What else?"

"The other incident was the dessert falling to the floor but stopping inches from it. I was able to catch it and fix it."

"And the television?" Severus asked.

Petunia nodded her head.

Severus sighed and nodded as though he had worked something out. "I must go, I need to speak to Dumbledore. I will see you next week."

...oOo...

"I spoke to Dumbledore today and he confirmed that your son's name has appeared on our list."

"List? What list?"

Severus hesitated for a long moment, and Petunia frowned. "I don't know what you mean," she informed him.

Severus took a deep breath. "For Hogwarts."

"I'm… I'm sorry, I think you're confused. Harry—"

"Petunia." He cut her off and stepped forward, taking her hands in his own. Petunia froze. Severus had never touched her before. In fact, he avoided touching anyone. "The television turned on when _Dudley_ wanted to watch it," Severus explained. "Harry wasn't in the room. I suspected before but I didn't want to say anything until I was certain."

Petunia pulled away. "But… when I was younger, I wrote… I wrote to Albus Dumbledore. He said that in muggle families, it's only the one child. How is my son one of them?"

Severus followed her and took a seat as she sank down onto the sofa. "So now I can't even put Dudley into nursery?" she muttered, her head in hands. "I knew Harry couldn't go, but now Dudley too?"

She felt a hand rest awkwardly on her back. "You mentioned Molly. She'll look after the kids whenever you need and though I don't think much of Black and Lupin, well, they'll be useful. They'll offer any help you need."

She looked up at him. "Do you think? Ever since that day I turned up at yours… by the time I got home, I knew that I couldn't give up my nephew so… and you know how Vernon left that night, and…"

The tears started up again and a tissue was quickly pressed into her hand. "Petunia, the man was a fool for leaving. He hated magic so much he walked out on his family. If you had given Harry up, he'd just have left because of Dudley and that's the best case scenario." He hesitated. "I grew up with a father that hated magic so much, he took it out on both me and my mother. You are better off without him. Your family is better off."

Petunia turned her head and stared hard at him. She remembered how often Lily had invited Severus over for dinner and the looks her parents had given each other when setting another plate. She didn't realise at the time that there was more to it, but now she realised that her parents had seen that Severus had a miserable home life and they were trying to help the best that they could.

"You're right," she said, putting a hand over his own. "We're better off without him, but I don't know those people well enough. Remus and Sirius and Molly… I need help from someone I can trust. Will you help me, Severus?"

He stared at her hand. "I… I will," he replied, turning his over and letting their fingers entwine.

* * *

 **Thanks to Lizzy for betaing.**

 **Review Please :)**


	20. SiriusRemus for Hato-ryou-chan

Written for:

Last Ship Standing \- Prompts: (word) beneficial, 9 (dialogue) "I thought you'd still be asleep.", 10 (emotion) scared

OTP Prompt list \- Halcyon

GGE \- For Hato-Ryou-Chan. Sorry I didn't use the prompts you wanted. I _will_ get the story with those prompts done eventually!

The FRIENDS Challenge \- Season 4: TOW The Free P*rn: Write about someone saying 'I love you' for the first time.

Mortal Combat Characters Category Challenge \- Liu Kang: Write about finding hope in a seemingly hopeless situation.

Ultimate AU Promptathon Challenge \- Switching Sides!AU

* * *

Who We Are

Sirius/Remus

 **For Hato-ryou-chan**

This was inspired by a prompt for a Mad Scientist AU. It didn't end up being one, but was written with this AU in mind at first.

* * *

The android couldn't remember his life before he woke up in that lab. He tried to remember, but no memories remained.

All he knew was what the chip that was inserted told him. He was a member of Greyback's pack. He was to fight under the control of Greyback and his training would start that day.

He would give his life fighting.

He was assigned his number: Three hundred and five.

...oOo...

Three-Zero-Five headed to the dining bay at the camp where they were being trained. Though they had information on their chips on how to fight, they still had to practice. They were still half human so some had slower reflexes. His were slower than most. He was much smaller than a lot of them and wondered his age when he made the transition from human to android.

When glancing at himself, he considered his age to be in his late teens. He wondered if his body would grow now that he had his implants, or would those halt his body at this age. Would he even live long enough to be old, or would he die under Greyback's rule?

A sliver of fear made its way through the metal and chips and everything that was attached. It spread quickly through his body. He was training to fight and he didn't even know what he was fighting for. He couldn't deny he was scared.

Though something told him that he wasn't supposed to ask. He knew that emotions weren't needed. Scared was a feeling and if he told anyone, they may take his emotions away. He stayed silent, not wanting to lose them..

...oOo...

Six months of training and the large group were called towards Greyback. "We will be moving from this camp and joining with a powerful man," he said, smiling and showing yellow teeth. Three-Zero-Five thought he looked feral but didn't say anything. "Not as powerful as me, but it will be in my best interest to take up his offer." He looked around at all of them. "You'll be re-designated names and do his bidding, but you will remain loyal to me."

The androids didn't respond and Three-Zero-Five made himself stay silent, not asking any questions. Maybe at the next camp he could find someone who would answer. Here he would just be modified if they thought something was wrong with him. They were only allowed to reply when a question was actually asked to them.

The leader ordered them to march and Three-Zero-Five followed them, always looking for a way to escape. But with hundreds of androids, there was no way to find his freedom.

They were all wearing brown clothing as they arrived to the new base. The men there were wearing green and watching them blankly. Three-Zero-Five looked from eyes to eyes, searching for anyone that still held life.

Some may have been good at hiding it, but one android met his gaze and curiosity flashed through his eyes for a second before his face went blank. The corners of Three-Zero-Five's lips moved up. There was someone else like him. He was sure of it.

The other andoid kept staring until the leaders called their groups away.

...oOo...

When the groups met again, Three-Zero-Five made sure to find himself facing the other android once more. There was a spark of recognition in the one grey eye he could see. Three-Zero-Five knew it looked less obvious if they stared straight ahead instead of turning their heads to look, and now he was in the eyeline of the android that _had_ to be like him.

"As there are many in Greyback's pack, I require volunteers to step forward and assist the newcomers."

Three-Zero-Five's heart thumped against his chest as the other android stepped forward and approached him. "Follow me."

Three-Zero-Five followed behind him, other androids surrounding them as they all walked from the room. "I am Fifty-Six."

"Three-Zero-Five."

"We have already been informed what to do if we assist a newcomer. There is not enough resources to share information through our programming but as we are self-learning, I can share my information with you and you can store it. There is a lot. I have been here for nine-hundred and six days."

"One hundred and ninety-two days," Three-Zero-Five replied. "Why are you—"

"Quiet," Fifty-Six replied with a hiss. "If you ask questions, you get reprogrammed. This is not a safe space. It would be beneficial not to discuss this right now and to wait."

Three-Zero-Five held back a smile. He _knew_ the android was like him and this was proof. "Understood."

"We will be assigned a room for maximum effectiveness. We will… share information there." Fifty-Six sped up slightly and Three-Zero-Five followed quickly.

...oOo...

"Do you have any memories of before?" Three-Zero-Five asked as they walked into their assigned quarters.

Fifty-Six shook his head. "I do not. Though there is an android that… that feels familiar to me. What I can see of his face, I believe he looks like me too. I suspect he may be my family. You?"

"Not a single thing," Three-Zero-Five replied with a sigh.

"Have you asked questions before?"

"No. Something inside told me that questions could cause trouble but I knew that I was different somehow."

"Me too. I had questions but I saw another android ask and then get reprogrammed. They lost any trace of humanity left afterwards. I've kept my mouth shut and myself in check until I work out what's going on and how to leave."

"Why are you trusting me with this information?" Three-Zero-Five asked.

Fifty-Six smiled softly. "Because I've been alone here for so long that it's a relief to have someone here who is like me. If you tell anyone, you'll be reprogrammed. You have as much to lose as me."

Three-Zero-Five nodded. "I'm not going to tell anyone. I can't tell you how glad I am to have found you. I thought i was the only one… but you understand. I don't even know what we're doing. I've just been trained for months to fight. The food isn't even good."

"Brilliant," Fifty-Six whispered.

"What?" Three-Zero-Five asked.

"That you know the food is crap. Somewhere in the back of your mind, it's comparing your meals to ones you've enjoyed in the past."

"Do you have anything like that?"

"When I focus too hard on the android that could be my brother, I get a… a flash of people. I can't make anything out. No features or anything. All I know is that when I get the flash, I feel fear and panic. The only logical thought I can make is that these people are my parents and that I was terrified of them. I'm wondering if I even want to remember."

"It's better to know the truth," Three-Zero-Five murmured. "You have a flash of faces. Though they terrify you, you've seen your parents. You have a brother. I have nothing."

Fifty-Six scooted to the edge of his bed, leaning forward and taking Three-Zero-Five's hand in his. "You have me," he whispered. "I know it's not a lot and it's not something of your past life… but it's better than nothing, right?"

Three-Zero-Five smiled. He gripped Fifty-Six's hand in his. "It's so much more than nothing. When we get out of here, will I still have you?"

Fifty-Six stared at their joined hands for a moment. "You will. We escape here together. We run. We stay together. No matter what. We don't leave unless we both have a chance."

Silence followed and the pair just sat there, their hands gripped tightly together.

...oOo...

Three-Zero-Five was terrified. He stuck close to Fifty-Six as the fighting started. Men and women pointed weapons and the pair fought enough to stay safe.

Three-Zero-Five couldn't bring himself to take any final blows that would end a life. He saw Fifty-Six hesitating too, not wanting to kill as they had been trained to do.

"We can't do this," Three-Zero-Five said, grabbing Fifty-Six's arm. "We need to run before one of us dies."

"We can't get away."

"If we stay, one of us could die," Three-Zero-Five insisted. "I don't want to leave you here alone. I don't want to be without you. I'll stay if that's what you're doing, but I think… I think we should leave."

There was a shift of emotions in Fifty-Six's eyes. "There are some buildings to the right. If we get over there, maybe we can hide inside of one? Or sneak around them and…"

Three-Zero-Five nodded. He watched someone come towards him, weapon raised, only for Fifty-Six to knock the weapon away. The man was thrown back and he was out cold.

Three-Zero-Five and Fifty-Six moved away from the fighting and they edged around the building, making sure the coast was clear. Three-Zero-Five tried to find a door whilst Fifty-Six kept lookout.

"Three-Zero-Five, someone's coming," he announced, readying himself for a fight. Six guns were pointed at them and the pair stood frozen. Three-Zero-Five felt himself being pushed behind Fifty-Six. "I'll keep you safe," Fifty-Six murmured.

"Round these two up. We'll take them back to our base."

"Don't give anything away," Three-Zero-Five hissed. "Pretend." A slight nod of Fifty-Six's head and the pair began to walk, aware of the guns on them.

They were taken around the back and away from the fighting. Two of the enemies returned to the fighting and Three-Zero-Five and Fifty-Six were locked in a van.

...oOo...

The pair stared straight ahead, not acknowledging anything. They had experience in this and the best thing to do was to act like they couldn't do anything.

A few soldiers for the enemy side came to look at them. Three-Zero-Five wondered if it was the first time they had seen the androids up close without a killing blow being aimed at them. He stared straight ahead

When they were alone, he let his fingers find Fifty-Six's fingers and they'd hold tightly until the door opened once more.

They sat there for a whole day, both feeling the hunger, before the door opened and a man with dark hair and glasses walked in. Two men, identical to each other followed.

"We are androids," Fifty-Six said in a monotone voice, void of any and all emotion. "We are a mix of robots and human. We require human facilities. We also require food to survive."

"We need to power up and sleep," Three-Zero-Five added, his tone matching Fifty-Six's tone. He wanted nothing more than to grip his friend's hand tightly in his, but that would give away too much.

"Gideon, send for a meal. What do androids eat?"

"Anything to sustain us."

The man with glasses nodded. "Bring me something and bring them both the same thing. Some bottles of water too."

The identical man closest to the door disappeared.

"We weren't aware," the man watching them said, looking between them. "You may be prisoners, but we have no intention of starving you and making you uncomfortable."

"Speak for yourself, boy. This is war." A man walked through the door, limping. Three-Zero-Five stared at him. "You are an android."

"Just my eye," he replied gruffly. "No programming, just a new eye."

"And a leg," Fifty-Six observed.

"Foot," the man replied, annoyed. He clutched his walking stick. "Just getting used to it." He turned to the man with glasses. "Why are you wasting time on this?"

"Because we haven't much choice. We've never been able to capture any of these before and now that we have… they may have information."

"Information that they won't tell us. Don't waste food or a room on them. They'd kill us if they had the chance."

"We have no orders to kill anyone in this building," Fifty-Six replied, returning his gaze to the man with the dark hair.

"My name is James," the man offered with a smile. "What can I call you both?"

"I am known as Fifty-Six. I am the fifty-sixth android in Voldemort's Army."

"I am known as Three-Zero-Five. I hold that number in Greyback's Pack."

"So they've joined forces with Greyback," the man with the walking stick snarled. "Unless they want us to think that. Maybe this is a ploy. You captured them too easily. Maybe they are spies."

James shook his head. "I don't think they are. I believe them," he said. "Fabian, tell your brother that we'll be eating in the main hall instead."

Fabian quickly left and Moody moved closer to James.

"Potter, this is crazy. They'll fight. People might die."

"We'll be surrounded by hundreds of soldiers," James replied. "I've heard that we've managed to get more androids in, so lets free this cell up for now shall we?"

Moody shook his head. "If anything happens, it's on you. I think your father should be in here dealing with them himself."

...oOo...

Three plates were set down and James watched the pair carefully. "Three different meals so take your pick."

Fifty-Six turned to him.

"Fifty-Six is of a lower number which signifies… a higher ranking. He will be required to pick before me."

Fifty-Six reached out for the nearest plate and slid it towards him. Three-Zero-Five reached for the next plate, leaving James with the last.

The pair didn't react as others sat down at the table. Three-Zero-Five looked around at the two women and men that he believed were serving as guards in case something went wrong.

"Identify yourselves," Three-Zero-Five requested, not wanting his eyes to linger on the familiar man.

"Alice."

"Lily."

"Frank."

"Gideon."

"Fabian."

"Peter."

"Peter." Fifty-Six stared at him intently. "I believe I have met you before. You were called Pettigrew and it's been sixteen days since I observed you visiting Voldemort's Camp. It was your eighth visit."

The pair turned to their meals, hiding their smiles as commotion began on the other side of the table. For a moment, Fifty-Six's hand fell to the seat between them.

Three-Zero-Five's hand fell down too and they allowed themselves a moment for their hands to touch before bringing them to the table once more.

They slowly began to eat and it was the best food he had ever tasted. They kept their heads down. Throughout everything, James Potter hadn't stopped watching them and they couldn't afford to give away that they were more human than robot. Right now, it was what was keeping them alive and they didn't know what would happen if the humans knew the truth.

...oOo...

Three-Zero-Five and Fifty-Six lay in beds close to each other but they couldn't reach each other's hands from the distance. It was painful to be apart from each other and not be able to touch, but the android side of them had to charge.

The moment Fifty-Six was finished charging, he unplugged and sat on the bed next to Three-Zero-Five. The length of their arms touching.

They stayed there until morning when James came in to wake them, looking curious as to why they were in the same bed.

"Three-Zero-Five was having trouble powering up," Fifty-Six informed him. "He required assistance."

"Come. Today is important," James said. He led the way from the room and the pair followed.

They entered a room where the guards were waiting and both were on alert. They tried not to show their panic.

"We decided that we only need one of you," James said, looking between them. "Yesterday, Android Three-Zero-Five informed us that Android Fifty-Six is of a higher ranking. So we have no need for Three-Zero-Five. We'll be dismantling him today but to save on cruelty, we'll end his life first."

"If you even try and touch him, I'll kill you," Fifty-Six snarled.

Victory flashed in James' eyes as Fifty-Six moved to stand in front of Three-Zero-Five.

"Androids always protect those of a higher ranking, so that must mean that Three-Zero-Five is a higher rank instead. Kill Fifty-Six. We can dismantle him instead."

The guns clicked and Three-Zero-Five pulled Fifty-Six back. "If you harm him, I won't tell you anything. You'll have to dismantle me too." He clutched Fifty-Six's hand. "If you harm him, I will rip your throats out."

The guns were lowered. "I knew it," James said, moving closer. "There's something different about the both of you. Just so you know, this was a test. I needed to see how human you are."

Fifty-Six wrapped his arms around Three-Zero-Five. "This had better not be a trick," he growled. "You're not allowed to hurt Three-Zero-Five. He's mine."

"He's your what?" James pushed. "Tell me."

"He's the only one in that Godforsaken place that wasn't programmed right," Fifty-Six snapped. "He's the only one I could tell still had human inside of him. We were trying to escape together and you lot fucked it up. Now we're prisoners and we don't know if we can trust you. But I swear to you, if you harm him in the slightest, if you try to dismantle him, if you even look at him wrong, I'll make everyone in here suffer." His fingers came up, running over the half of his face that didn't have a metal plate covering it. Three-Zero-Five leaned into the touch.

"You don't need to protect me. I was trained by Greyback. I can rip their throats out in seconds," Three-Zero-Five pointed out.

"But you haven't," James said. "I suspected from the first time we met that there was something different about you. I wasn't sure if you were more advanced than the other androids, or if it was something else. Then I saw you holding hands. Androids don't hold hands. Holding hands requires attachment. Either you were seeking comfort or had an emotional attachment. Either of those… changed things."

"What's changed?" Three-Zero-Five asked.

"It means that if we remove your masks and your chips, you have enough humanity left to become one of us again. We've done it once before but I wasn't sure how effective that was until this moment."

"This is a trick," Three-Zero-Five said, turning to Fifty-Six. "This is—"

"It's not a trick." One of the soldiers removed his helmet and Fifty-Six stared.

"Sixty-One!"

The boy smiled. "You're my brother."

"I know. I… suspected." The pair observed the man. The metal plate that covered half of his face had been removed and bandages covered the area. They both wanted to know what was underneath the bandages.

"They captured me. I followed you. I wasn't sure why. I didn't have as much humanity in me as you both clearly do, but I still followed you because I felt some attachment to you and wanted to protect you. When I arrived here I explained that to James Potter and he understood the humanity in me which I didn't even realise was there. I told him how to override the programming. He fixed me. I remember things."

"The people? The ones that scared me?"

"Mother and Father. They gave us to Voldemort to experiment on. To turn into these things. You have more humanity in you. I remember that you always felt things more which I believe explains how you are now. If you don't trust them, trust what you see in front of you. I'm human now. Yes, I still have a few android modifications that these people can't fix, but I don't have a chip telling me what to do or how to act. I don't have anyone controlling me. The block on my brain is gone. I remember everything."

"You wanted to remember," Fifty-Six said, turning to Three-Zero-Five. "Should we do this?"

Three-Zero-Five nodded his head. "If you can't trust your brother, who can you trust?" He turned to James. "You will swear on your own life that no harm will come to Fifty-Six."

"Sirius. His name is Sirius. I'm Regulus."

"No. Whilst I'm like this, I don't want to have a name. I want that to wait until I'm human again," Fifty-Six explained. His arms tightened around Three-Zero-Five.

Three-Zero-Five looked around. "We'll be fixed at the same time," he insisted. "Together."

"That can be arranged," James agreed.

...oOo...

"Your face is covered in bandages."

Three-Zero-Five opened his eyes and he looked up at the other android.

"I thought you'd still be asleep." Three-Zero-Five frowned at the movement of his lips. He had never considered that his modifications would have affected the movement of his lips before. Now they felt like they were moving too much. It was strange. "I thought I'd wake up before you."

Sirius grinned. "I woke up ages ago," he replied. "Ignore the state of my face. I've tried cleaning it and stuff, but the metal plate covered it and there was dead skin cells building under there, and my skin isn't healthy. Thankfully there was no infection. But I have to have this ointment on it for a while to help it." Sirius' gaze lingered on the bandage covering his head and half of his face..

"What? Is mine bad?"

"Greyback's designs were… James said that the metal cut badly into your skin. It was attached. The cut is where the metal sat is infected so you'll have a scar."

"Oh." Three-Zero-Five turned his head away.

"But that doesn't matter at all. I bet you're still going to be beautiful."

"Not like you."

"You'll be beautiful in your own way, and I already know there's beauty in here." His hand pressed against Three-Zero-Five's chest. "What's your name, love?"

"Remus… Lupin."

"Remus. I know you're sad right now, but James said once you know your name, he'll search for your parents. Even… you have me."

"Do I? What about when the bandages come off? Will I still have you?"

Sirius frowned. "Don't ever doubt me. I was ready to die for you, Remus. Did I know what you looked like? No. I could see your eye and half of your mouth and part of your nose. I still fell in love with…" Sirius trailed off, his grey eyes widening. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to tell you that, I didn't want to make things... awkward if you didn't feel the same."

"I was ready to die for you too. I still am," Remus murmured. "I just need these bandages off before I tell you that I love you too."

"It was easier to remember my human side when I realised I was in love with you," Sirius said as Remus sat up. He reached for Remus' bandages, but Remus caught his hands.

"Are you sure you'll feel the same?"

"I loved you when you had a big piece of metal welded to your face."

"Welded?" Remus whispered, feeling sick at the idea.

"Yeah. The edge was welded against your skin. That's what left the wound. It was infected and you ended up with a scar following the edge. It was only down your face and not the rest of it since the rest sorta fit like a helmet."

Remus shuddered and let go of Sirius' hand. Sirius reached up and began to undo the bandage.

"Nothing could change how I feel about you," Sirius murmured as he slowly brought his hands around Remus' head. "I would die for you, Remus. I'd give up anything and everything for you. You're all that matters to me. I don't have nice memories, no nice childhood. The only thing I ever cared about was my brother. But now I have you. The love of my life. My soulmate. How else could you explain how we found each other in those hundreds of androids, with so many pretending to have no humanity. Yet we still found each other. It was all worth it because I found you. I don't have much of a family, but I have you and to me, that's better than a family."

"You have me," Remus whispered. "Always. I promise."

He winced as Sirius carefully pulled the bandage from his skin. He could feel where it was stuck to his face, and he could suddenly see out of the other eye.

"Is it bad?"

"Your skin looks like mine did and it's very sore where the plate was attached, but you're beautiful," Sirius insisted.

Remus could see that Sirius truly believed he was and that helped so much. Because his biggest fear was losing Sirius.

"I… I made sure James gave us a room to share," Sirius continued with a shy smile. "Can I stay here with you? I don't want to go back to my own bed."

"Of course."

"Also, I have the ointment for your face. May I?"

Remus nodded his head and Sirius grabbed one of the eye patches from the side and stuck it over Remus' eye. He began gently applying it to his skin until it was covered. "It makes your face tickley," he confessed. "Don't touch it."

"Thank you."

"I'm thinking of staying. Of fighting."

Remus stared at Sirius for a long moment, jarred by the sudden change of conversation.

"Why?"

"Because we need to end this, Remus. People being turned into androids against their will. The Order… they now know that we have humanity still so they're going to start setting traps to catch the teams of androids rather than fighting like before. They think they can save more people."

Remus nodded slowly. Greyback himself kidnapped Remus off the street and did this to him. All for another soldier in a war. Sirius was right - they needed to stay.

Plus, he would never leave Sirius.

"Tell James that we're going to need that shared room for a long time," he said and watched Sirius' face light up. "And I've been in love with you since just after I met you and that's never going to change."

...oOo...

Remus was curled up on the sofa in the recreation room. He had a book in hand whilst Sirius watched a movie on the large screen attached to the wall. Sirius' arm was wrapped tightly around him and Remus cuddled against him.

They had been there for three weeks now and things were perfect. They had been given a room with a large bed, and though neither of them were ready for the next step just yet, they delighted in holding each other every night. Their skin was healing quickly, and the infection was gone from Remus' face wound, leaving an angry red scar in its place. Remus hoped that in time, it would calm down and maybe even fade a little.

The door opened and James walked into the room, heading straight for them. Remus straightened up as he approached and Sirius turned his gaze away from the television.

"Come, it's important."

Remus nodded and followed, Sirius beside him. Though James had only been talking to Remus, Sirius was still protective of him. His fingers linked through Sirius' as they walked.

"In here."

Remus was confused, but walked into Charlus Potter's office. Sirius waited outside, leaning against the wall. He had never been in there before, but the sight made him freeze.

"Mum? Dad?"

"Remus!" His parents grabbed him, pulling him in for a hug. "We thought we'd never see you again. We thought you were dead."

"I'm not. I was taken—"

"We know. Charlus has just been explaining to us," Lyall said. Remus was relieved that he didn't have to relive everything all over again.

"How did you escape?" Hope asked.

"With Sirius' help. He was taken too… he was there longer than me. When Greyback brought me to Voldemort, I realised that Sirius was like me. We planned to run away from it together - to be together - to be free. I need to ask you both something."

"Of course."

"When we go home… when this war is done, because I'm staying to fight… but when it's over, I'll be bringing Sirius home with me. He doesn't really have a family… I'm his family."

"Of course, darling. And am I assuming right in thinking that you and this boy are courting?"

Remus chuckled. "Yeah. We're together. I love him. He said it was fate that we found each other there. That we're soulmates. He's very protective of me because I don't think he fully trusts anyone here, so he's outside."

"Well, call him in. I'd like to meet him," Lyall said.

Remus headed to the door and opened it. He smiled at Sirius and took his hand, leading him into the room.

"It's good to meet you, Sirius," Lyall began, holding out his hand to shake Sirius'. "I'm Remus' father, Lyall."

"And I'm Hope." Hope grabbed him in a tight hug. "You can call me mum if you prefer. Welcome to the family."

Sirius wrapped his own arms around her and mumbled a thank you and Remus beamed at the sight. A year ago, he would have been scared to tell his parents that he had feelings for another male.

But after everything he had been through, he found the strength not to hide it.

...oOo...

That night, after his parents' visit, Remus cuddled against Sirius in their bed. Things were beautifully halcyon. Remus loved that things were so calm after everything he'd been through. He knew they'd be fighting soon enough, so he was going to make the most of the time he had before the new training.

"Are you still staying?" Sirius asked suddenly.

Remus nodded. "Of course."

"I just wanted to make sure," Sirius replied. "With your parents coming here, I thought maybe you'd be tempted to leave. I'd have left if that's what you were doing, but—"

"But you want to stay. I want to stop them because of what we've been through. So many others are suffering and if Regulus can be fixed, the others can be too. When this is all over, my parents said that you can come home with me. You have a family with us."

"Really?" Sirius' face lit up at the idea. "Are you sure?"

Remus nodded, shifting into a sitting position. His gaze dropped to Sirius' lips.

So far, their kisses had stuck to cheeks and corners of their mouths whilst their skin healed and Remus' scar healed. But now everything was getting better.

Sirius grinned before his eyes closed and he tilted his head, leaning closer.

Remus' heart pounded against his chest as he followed suit. Their lips met and Remus was overcome with emotion. He felt like he'd never be able to breath again and fingers moved up into Sirius' dark hair.

"I love you," he whispered as they parted.

"I love you too," Sirius murmured softly.


	21. WolfStar for Lizzy

**Written for:**

Gobstones:

Blue Stone - Isolation, Accuracy - Hide by Creed, Power - Writing a Letter, Technique - Setting: Hotel

Writing Club:

Days of the Month - World Wide Web - Write a fic based around the usage of internet.

Gift Giving Gala

For Lizzy - Hotel AU, Sirius/Remus, Happy Sirius

The FRIENDS Challenge:

Season 4 - Write a Romance and combine it with Friendship or Drama.

Ultimate Promptathon Challenge

Friends to Lovers

Jenga

(Quote) "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."

* * *

A Light in the Darkness

* * *

 **For Lizzy who wanted a hotel!AU**

 **Some borderline M here guys. Non detailed.**

* * *

.o.

 _Get lost in time_

.o.

Remus switched off the work computer and stood up from the little desk, glad to be done for the day. He took a moment to tidy the desk and make sure it was in order before heading to the front door and turning the lock, closing the B&B for the night.

Ten minutes later, Remus was in his room. He had checked all of the locks and made sure all of the switches in the house were off. It didn't take him long to strip out of his clothes and toss them into the washing basket in the corner. He pulled his pyjamas on and settled down on the bed with his old laptop.

 _'Hey Moony, you've not been around for a few weeks. Are you okay?'_

Remus smiled at the message that popped up as the laptop finally sprung to life. His fingers hovered over the keys as he considered his reply to his internet pen-pal. He wanted to find a way to explain that he hadn t been feeling himself, but that didn't feel right. He just felt like a more miserable version of himself. An unhappier Remus. But what could he say? That he was stuck in the middle of nowhere with no friends or family and that this had gotten his mood so low, that he was barely functioning anymore. That he saw no escape from the misery and that he saw himself still working there as an old man, still as utterly alone. That he desperately needed someone to talk to about it. Not just someone. He needed a friend who actually cared and wanted to listen to his troubles. Someone who wanted to help him or offer advice.

He didn't say any of those things. After some contemplation, his fingers typed out a message.

 _'I'm really sorry. I've been so busy working. Running a B &B isn't as easy as it sounds.'_

 _'B &B?'_ came the reply a mere second later. _'Do you run it alone?'_

Remus stared at the words. Having these messages almost felt like someone cared. But it was the internet. No one _truly_ cared on the internet. _'Yes. Just me.'_

 _'It sounds lonely.'_

 _'It is.'_

Remus stared at the screen for a few minutes waiting for Padfoot's reply. He had been speaking to someone he had met online for about six months now, but they hadn't exchanged much information about themselves - nothing identifiable. Well, a few things slipped out at times, but it didn't really matter. It wasn't like anyone would bother to come and see him. So what if things slipped out?

 _'You know you can always talk to me, right? I'm here for you whenever you need me. Just say the word, Moony.'_

That one brought a smile to Remus' lips. Though he had no way to contact Padfoot other than the messaging, it was a nice thought. Even if Padfoot didn't really mean it. Even if he was just saying it to be nice.

 _'Thank you.'_ His fingers hovered over the keys again and he found himself typing more. _'It'd be nice if you were here. I'm tired of all the sheep and animals and being isolated. it would be nice to have someone to talk to in person. I suppose you'll be on the next train out?'_

 _'I'll see what I can do. Give me directions and I'll be there. I promise.'_

Remus snorted. _'Goodnight Padfoot.'_

 _'Oh, you're off already? Well, come back on soon. Don't forget those directions. It may not be the next train, but it will be soon! Goodnight x'_

Remus moved his finger across the pad, towards the 'x' in the top of the corner, but hesitated. His fingers tapped away before he could change his mind.

 _'The Lone Wolf Inn, Cardigan, Wales.'_

Remus shut his laptop down and went to bed without waiting for a reply. He knew what it would say. Something like: 'Oh, Wales. That's too far for me to travel, sorry.' He didn't want to be let down.

.o.

 _There is no reason to hide_

.o.

Two weeks passed by too slowly and Remus hadn't been on the chat again. He found himself spending a lot of his free-time locked away in his room, reading or staring at nothing. Even books had lost their appeal. Everything seemed to have lost it's interest. Once the B&B duties were finished, Remus reverted to a shell of himself once more, isolating himself to his room.

During the day, he smiled and was polite and friendly to the guests. He ran the place as his parents had. So when the bell above the door jingled, Remus pulled on his best fake smile. "Welcome to the Lone Wolf Inn," he said, turning his gaze to the door. "Are you here for a room?" He stood up and started walking over.

The man turned towards him and Remus froze in his tracks, eyes widening at the sight before him. Dark hair was pulled back into a messy bun with strands falling down around his face. Stormy grey eyes were fixed intently on him, searching his face curiously. High cheekbones only added to the man's beauty and Remus' eyes followed the man's tongue as it darted out, briefly moving against the man's lips before disappearing again.

"I'm Sirius Black. I'll be staying for a couple of weeks at least. I'm not quite sure my length of stay yet."

"I'm Remus Lupin," Remus replied, reaching out his hand to the stranger. "I own this place."

The man nodded, reaching out his own and gripping Remus' hand firmly. They shook and the man held his hand for a long moment, his eyes roving over Remus' face. "Yes, I'm glad I came when I did," he murmured. "You run this place alone?"

"How do you know—"

"You own the place and you're the one sitting at the counter," Sirius pointed out.

"Ah. Well, let me show you to your room. We have four guests staying here, but they're all checking out tomorrow."

"So it'll just be me and you." The man's lips curved up into a smile. "It seems my timing is perfect. My stay is currently indefinite so I'm here as long as I'm needed."

He stared at Remus expectantly and Remus was lost at what to reply to that. He grasped around for an answer before giving the man a nod and a smile.

The reaction seemed to satisfy Sirius. His smile widened and he pulled out his wallet, handing over his bank card. "Put me down for two weeks and just add to it as time goes on."

Remus took the card and walked around the counter to process the stay. "Which room are you after?"

"The one with the king-size bed and en-suite. I know the rates."

Remus quickly processed the payment and handed the card back. "I hope you have a great stay," Remus told him. "If you need me—"

"Oh, I'm sure I will," Sirius replied with a warm smile. "It's the first room down that hall," he said, pointing to the hallway to his left. He came out from behind his desk. "Let me help you with that case."

Sirius shook his head, insisting he could do it alone and Remus went back to his solitary existence behind the counter. There was only two more hours until he could lock the door and go and sit in his room.

.o.

 _My life_

.o.

"So… Remus Lupin and Lone Wolf… I'm sensing a wolf theme. That explains a lot," Sirius said, as Remus set a plate down in front of him. "I haven't had a decent fry-up in ages." He winked at Remus. "You know what they say."

"What do they say?"

"The way to a man is through his stomach," Sirius replied with a wide grin. "But I can't eat this."

"Oh. If you want something else…" Remus reached for the plate, but Sirius caught his wrist.

"That's not what I meant," Sirius murmured, his fingers caressing the skin where Remus' cardigan sleeve had slipped up. "I don't want to sit alone, Remus. Go get your own breakfast and join me."

"I'm not really a breakfast person," Remus said hesitantly.

"Breakfast is important. It helps you have energy for the day. Trust me," Sirius let go of Remus' wrist. "I'd like to get to know more about you, I've enjoyed meeting you. I want to know more about the name of this place and yours. Breakfast is more enjoyable with company."

Remus nodded his head knowing that Sirius wasn't going to give up. He turned back to the kitchen and served himself up a small breakfast. He quickly slipped into the seat next to Sirius. "My mum was fascinated by our surname and she was the one who decided on the name, Remus. Naming this place had to involve 'wolf' too as you can imagine."

The pair were silent as they began eating. Sirius got through his plate much quicker. "Well, my parents were down with the whole theme too. We're all named after stars. I'm named after the dog star."

Remus smiled. "I worked that one out," he replied.

"So, you greet people and book them in. You bring bags to rooms and you cook breakfast. There isn't anyone else _at all_?"

Remus shook his head. "I have someone who comes in during the holidays when it gets a little busier, but other than that—"

"Give her a call," Sirius insisted, grabbing his wallet from his pocket. "I'm hiring you to take me on a tour of this place. I'll pay her for her time."

Remus hesitated. "I can suggest someone else who can take you…" He watched as Sirius pulled some notes from his wallet and handed them over.

Sirius raised an eyebrow causing Remus to sigh and take two of the notes. "I'll go and ask her now," he said.

"I'll come with you," Sirius insisted with a grin. "I can be very convincing."

Remus didn't doubt that. "Let me just clean up," he replied instead. He started to stack the plates left on the little tables and brought them out to the kitchen. As he scraped them, he heard the door open again and jumped.

He turned to look and spotted Sirius walking through balancing all the glasses that Remus had planned to return for. He glanced at Remus before heading to the sink, emptying the contents down the drain and rinsing the cups. "I'll wash and you dry?" he suggested.

"You're a guest. You shouldn't be—"

"I'm here to help," Sirius insisted. "Once this is done, we'll go and look around. I don't mind helping."

.o.

 _Give Life_

.o.

Once the cleaning up was done, Remus checked the other guests out of their rooms. He decided to leave the tidying up of the rooms until he returned from heading out with Sirius. He merely took a quick look around to see if they had forgotten anything, before leading the way from the B&B and down the path.

They walked to a house a couple of doors away and Remus led the way up the path, still confused as to why Sirius wanted _him_ to be his guide. Remus would have preferred sitting around and doing nothing rather than face people, but he didn't want Sirius to be unhappy.

Which was strange. Sirius was a stranger yet Remus found himself caring about the man's moods and well-being.

"Remus, how are you? Is everything alright?" Mrs Bradley said, opening her front door. "Did you need me in?"

Remus nodded his head. "Hello, Mrs Bradley. I was wondering if you're free for a few hours?"

"Mrs Bradley, I'm Sirius Black. I've come to whisk Remus away on a little site-seeing adventure, if you're free?"

"Of course. Just let me get my glasses and a book," she replied with a warm smile. "I have my daughter coming over for dinner though so I can't stay all day. I'm free until four at the latest."

"I'll make sure we're back in time," Sirius assured her, slipping an arm around Remus' shoulders.

"I'll be right there," Mrs Bradley insisted, smiling once more before closing the door.

"That was easy," Sirius replied. He grabbed Remus' arm. "Come on, let's get ready. What sort of things are there to do around here?"

"There are a few galleries we can visit," Remus began. "We can do boat trips to see dolphins or kayaking. There's a theatre, museum and wildlife centre as well as the castle."

"A castle?" Sirius looked at him, excited. "Well, why didn't you start with that, Remus? Lead the way! I can tell I'm in for an exciting time here!"

Remus couldn't help but smile at Sirius' enthusiasm. "Okay," he agreed.

.o.

 _oh let's get away_

.o.

"I would have made an excellent Knight," Sirius said, as they approached the castle."I'd have an awesome sword and I'd be awesome with a lance." He shot Remus a lascivious wink.

"Knight?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow. "I picture you as more of a Lord than anything. Wearing fine clothes and attending feasts."

"So, what do we do here? Go on a tour?" Sirius looked around excitedly.

Remus shook his head. "I grew up here. I've taken this tour hundreds of times," he replied. "Let's do it ourselves. I know enough about the castle."

Sirius grinned. "I love it. I'd much rather listen to you than some stuffy tour-guide," he insisted, pulling out his wallet as the approached the counter. He handed over a £20 note. "Two please."

"Wait, I can…"

"No, I insisted on having a guide so today is on me," Sirius replied firmly.

The tickets and change were handed over and Sirius shoved them into his wallet before putting it into his pocket.

"So where first?"

Remus led the way past the counter and into the castle. "Well, the earliest historical moments are the neolithic flint scrapers that were found around here," Remus began. "But we don't really know much more about them. There was a Viking raid not far from here in medieval times too."

"Vikings are awesome," Sirius murmured. "I would have been an excellent Viking."

Remus laughed. "Whilst you were being an excellent knight?" he asked.

"I like your laugh," Sirius murmured softly. "So, did anyone important live in this castle?"

"One inhabitant of the castle, we believe was Gilbert fitz Richard de Clare," Remus began, reciting words he had heard so many times. "But he received the castle from King Henry. The previous owner was a man called Owain ap Cadwgan who is known for falling in love with, and kidnapping his second cousin, Nest."

"I think we might be related," Sirius joked, with a snort.

Remus wasn't sure what Sirius meant, but continued with the story. "There was a lot of fighting and Owain causing trouble but eventually he aligned himself with Henry. Fighting on the same side was Nest's husband who took revenge and killed him."

"And that's where it gets exciting," Sirius said, listening intently as though this was the most fascinating thing he had heard. Remus was thrown by the way Sirius' eyes were watching him. He felt like he was missing something big but couldn't quite work out what that could be.

"Gilbert Fitz Richard, was next to have the castle. Our tour guide likes to make a point at the idea of a conspiracy surrounding him and that there is no such evidence even though it's been hinted at."

Remus opened his mouth to continue but Sirius suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him off the usual route. "Where are we going?" Remus asked.

"It says 'no entry'," Sirius whispered. "We're going to explore."

"But we're not allowed…"

"I think that sign was merely a suggestion," Sirius insisted, not letting go of Remus' hand. "You said you've done this hundred of times so we have to make this time much more interesting! Otherwise it's just going to be another boring tour for you. Haven't you ever wondered what's down this way?"

Remus allowed himself to be pulled along down a hallway and Sirius pushed a door open at the end.

"Just a bedroom," he said, sighing. He turned back, still holding Remus' hand and tried each door, only to come away disappointed.

"Maybe there's another way?" Sirius murmured, running his free hand through his hair and frowning.

"Or we could go up those stairs?" Remus suggested in a loud whisper, pointing at some narrow stairs leading up, feeling a little excited that he was breaking the rules for the castle.

Sirius grinned. "A tower. Perfect!" He led Remus to the stairs and headed up first, practically running up tem in excitement.

.o.

 _Give love_

.o.

Remus wasn't quite sure what was happening, but as quickly as Sirius had rushed up the stairs, he was rushing down again. "There's someone up there. Staff room or something. Run!"

He grabbed Remus' hand once more and they began to run down the hallway. Remus pulled Sirius into a tiny alcove that was half-hidden by a tapestry that hung on the wall he had spotted in their initial search of the hall. Whilst Sirius had been looking at the doors, Remus' eyes had been scouring the rest of the place.

It was smaller than he expected and Sirius was pressed tightly against him as they hid, barely daring to breath as they listened to footsteps pass by only a minute later.

They heard the sound of doors creaking open, one at a time and Remus looked at Sirius who was staring at him intensely.

He hadn't been this close to someone for so long and he unabashedly took a chance to examine Sirius' face. He had thought him attractive before, but it was almost overwhelming now. His gaze lingered on the long lashes and the stormy-grey eyes, before moving down to Sirius' lips.

They were inches from his and he wondered how they would feel against his own. Perfect, he thought to himself. There was no way Sirius' lips would feel anything but perfect.

He could feel Sirius' breath on his skin and when Sirius shifted, Remus could feel Sirius' body against his. The space was small and Sirius had been pressed back against the wall, but the small shift had him pressed up against Remus, the distance between their lips lessening.

"We're stuck here for a while," Sirius breathed, his fingers coming up and stroking through Remus' hair. "What do you want to do? Talk… or…" His own gaze found Remus' lips. "Or something else?"

"We can talk later," Remus whispered softly. His hands moved up to find Sirius' waist. This was a bad idea, but he couldn't help himself. It wasn't often that someone showed him interest. The last time he had gotten his heart broken but clearly he hadn't learned his lesson.

It was history repeating itself. He had fallen for a customer that had stayed for three weeks during the summer. _He_ promised that he would return soon, but it had been two years and _he_ hadn't even called.

But the fleeting memory of his previous love escaped his mind as Sirius' lips found his, barely moving, waiting for Remus to respond. It was all Remus could do to keep his balance and his arms slipped from Sirius' hip to move around his waist, holding him tightly.

The hand that had stroked through Remus' hair moved to the back of Remus' neck as Sirius deepened the kiss, his tongue pressing gently against Remus' lip.

Remus parted his lips, allowing Sirius entry and he pressed himself closer, gasping as he felt a hardness against him.

Sirius gasped against his mouth, but the kiss didn't end and, for the first time in a long time, Remus _wanted_. He didn't pull away. He waited to see if Sirius would, but Sirius' other hand had slid around his waist now, holding him tightly.

Sirius moaned somewhat obscenely against his mouth and their bodies pressed against each other harder. A thrust of his hips was all it too to have them losing control. A few seconds later, their hips were moving quicker, Sirius' lips on his ear as Sirius panted his name.

He was so close. Just a few more thrusts.

"Hey. You're not allowed in this part of the castle. Come out here now."

"Shit," Sirius whispered. "Cockblockers."

Remus looked down. "I'm not going anywhere with his," he hissed.

"Do you want me to take care of that?" Sirius whispered seductively.

Remus glared at him. "There's someone out there," he replied. "I'm not doing anything where someone can see—"

"I won't let them see anything," Sirius insisted. "Trust me, it'll only take seconds. I'm very good at—"

"Now!" the guard demanded.

Sirius slipped out in front of Remus, and Remus stayed behind him a little, trying to hide from view. He desperately started thinking about anything that could get the erection down.

"Sorry mate, just wanted some alone time and got a bit lost," Sirius said, grinning.

The man rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine, but you have to leave the castle now." He barely glanced at Remus before leading the way from the castle.

By the time they got back to the main area of the castle, Remus' body had calmed down and he reached up to fix his hair. The place was empty and Remus was relieved that no-one saw him escorted from the castle.

Once outside Sirius took his hand. "Put a pin in that for now and we'll come back to it later," he murmured, the look in his eyes causing Remus' heart to race. "I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't get to see the gift shop, but I'm sure we can do something else. Let's have lunch, my treat."

"There's a place on the river that I like," Remus found himself replying. "You… you were right. That was my most interesting trip to the castle ever."

Sirius grinned. "I can make all the boring places interesting again," he assured Remus. His grip on Remus' hand tightened slightly. "So… show me this place you like."

.o.

 _To what do I owe this gift my friend?_

.o.

"Remus? Come in." Sirius beamed at him widely and Remus tried not to stare at Sirius' bare chest.

"We need to talk about earlier," Remus said, trying not to let himself get distracted which was hard to do when Sirius was looking like that.

"I know. I've been thinking about it since leaving the castle. I didn't expect… when I came here, I thought... " Sirius sighed, biting on his lip which made Remus want to bite it too. "I didn't want to take advantage and I'm sorry, but I don't regret a moment of it… well, except the end. I wanted to make you finish. I wanted to see the expression on your face."

"What did you expect when you came here?" Remus asked, confused.

"To help you," Sirius replied.

"Me? Why?"

"Because you asked me to," Sirius said, frowning slightly. "You told me that you wanted me to be here. You told me where you were and I came as soon as I could. You needed me and I'm your friend and I came to help you because I knew you needed help. I didn't expect…"

"Expect?" Remus was even more confused now. He knew he was missing something. He just needed to work it all out.

"I didn't expect to fall for you. Though I think I was already falling for you from our online conversations. I never expected you to be so beautiful or fascinating. I didn't want to take advantage of you when you're at a low point and you need someone, but I couldn't control myself. I wanted to do everything in my power to bring you pleasure. Whether it's a fun day out, or in bed. As long as I can make you happy."

"Online?" Remus whispered, desperately trying to recall what was happening. After a moment he remembered his last conversation with Padfoot. He remembered giving his address. "Padfoot?" he whispered, his eyes widening.

Sirius nodded. "Moony," he murmured. "I thought you knew it was me when I got here. I thought… I mean, I did email you a picture the other day. You didn't realise?"

"I haven't been on my messages," Remus admitted. "Only the one for the B&B. I'm sorry, I never thought you'd come."

"Of course I did. I said already: we're friends. I care about you, Moony. I'm here to help you."

Remus nodded slowly. Sirius being Padfoot made it all harder because he had started falling for Padfoot too before he had withdrawn due to his depression. "We can't do this," he whispered. "I've fallen for people who have stayed here before. It hurts when they leave and when you leave, it'll—"

"Do you really think I'm going to seduce you and then leave you?" Sirius asked, reaching for Remus' hand and leading him to the bed. "I want to seduce you and stay here with you. I want to help you put your life back together. I want to help you find a way to be happy."

"Well, you'll be here a long time," Remus replied sadly. "It's this place."

Sirius looked around. "Talk to me," he insisted.

"It's nothing."

"Moony, love, I just travelled from London to be here. I've spent the last two weeks teaching my best friend how to run the counter at my work. My brother has taken over all my appointments. I'm here because of you. I want to help you but I can't if I don't know how. Talk to me. Tell me what you need from me, tell me what will make you happy and I'll do everything in my power."

"I hate it here," Remus admitted, hating himself for the words. "We've always lived here and… and my parents loved it but it's a lonely place. I'm always alone and without anyone to talk to or befriend…"

"That's why you're depressed?"

"How did you even know that before you got here?"

"Because of our conversations. I'm very observant sometimes I guess and I picked up on things. I didn't want to bring it up on chat because I didn't want to scare you away and risk you never signing back in. When you asked me to come, I was so relieved because it told me that on some level, you want my help. That you need me."

"You want to have sex with me?" Remus asked, glancing at the bed.

"I would love to have you under me on the bed," Sirius admitted. "I would have you screaming my name. I would do anything you ask… but that's not all. I want to kiss you, I want to hold you afterwards and to have you be happy about what happened. I don't want you to regret it. I want to be with you and I want to help you. I want to see you smile. To laugh… but not laughing at me in bed because I don't think I'd like that." He grinned at Remus.

Remus shivered. "I want that too, but…"

"But you're scared I'm going to leave and hurt you. You're scared of being left alone again," Sirius said, the smile fading. He pulled Remus close, resting their foreheads together. "Well, I'll show you that I'm here for you. Tell me what you need."

"I need to get away from here," Remus admitted. "I need to never see this B&B again. I hate it here. I need a fresh start. I need… I…"

"Okay. Tomorrow we'll put this place on the market," Sirius said. "Where do you want to be?"

"I… I don't know."

"What do you want to do after this?" Sirius asked. "Education? Work?"

"I like books. I used to work in the local library until my parents passed away and I got stranded with this place to run."

Sirius replied, grey eyes watching Remus intently. "Would you be happy in London?"

Remus stared at Sirius in shock. "I'd be happy anywhere, but… you..."

"Okay. Let's do it. Pack your stuff and put this place up for sale. You can come and stay with me for a bit and I'll help you find a job. Either in a library or maybe even start your own bookshop with the money you make from here. I'll do anything to help you and I'll be at your side until you tire of me and want your own place. Even then, you'll still have me."

Remus hesitated. Moving to a new place where he didn't really know anyone was a terrifying idea. But what else was there? Staying in Wales and sinking further and further into the depression that was taking over him?

No.

The reason he was depressed was because he was alone and trapped. Leaving here would make the difference, because he wouldn't be trapped. He wouldn't be stuck in a job he hated because he didn't have another option.

He could start fresh. London was busy and bustling and the opposite of his part of Wales. He had Sirius and he had no doubt that Sirius had friends. Maybe he'd click with a few of them.

"What if you get sick of me?" Remus asked.

"Love, when I came down here, I expected the little crush to just disappear and I'd be left with friendship. But when I saw you… I was screwed. Coming here just made it all the more real. At the castle… your body against mine. I've been with people before, girls and guys. I've had a couple of serious relationships in the past, but nothing felt anywhere close to how I felt when I kissed you or when our bodies were… I'd gladly accept your friendship if that's all you were offering because my offer to help comes without strings. I want to help because I care about you. I don't expect anything back but just know that I want to be a part of your life in whatever capacity you offer."

"As my friend?" Remus asked.

"If that's what you desire."

"Boyfriend?"

"Happily."

"Lover?"

"Delighted to be." There were inches between their lips and Remus was reminded at how good Sirius' body felt against his. Without a second thought, he pressed his body against the other man's, lips finding Sirius' for a soft kiss. He pulled back for a second.

"Bed?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Sirius said, dropping onto the bed and pulling Remus down with him. He smirked as Remus swung a leg over his body.

"You made a mistake earlier," Remus pointed out softly. "It's going to be you underneath me, screaming my name."

"Anything," Sirius begged, his hips bucking up against Remus.

"Now now, be patient," Remus murmured, moving down Sirius' legs. His tongue licked across Sirius' stomach. "Good things come to those who wait."

.o.

 _Let's Leave_

.o.

Remus tried to get up to use the bathroom but Sirius had a tight grip on him. "No sneaking out like this was a mistake because it's the most amazing thing ever," Sirius murmured sleepily against his ear.

"I need the loo," Remus replied. "And I need to check the time. I need to get up and get started on breakfast and need to know what time it is."

Sirius groaned and let go of Remus. "I think it's a bit too early for breakfast," he murmured. "But I'm sure I can think of things to do to you to pass the time."

"Yeah?"

"Well, you got to enjoy my perfect body last night. I think it's only fair that I get to enjoy yours," Sirius insisted.

Remus turned back, his eyes slowly dragging across Sirius' naked form. Sirius smirked, not embarrassed in the slightest.

Maybe he was dreaming? Maybe he'd wake up alone and miserable.

He wasn't allowed to feel this content. There wasn't supposed to all this light in his mind.

As though Sirius could see where his mind was going, his quickly got up from the bed and wrapped his arms around Remus. "Let yourself be happy," he whispered, placing a soft kiss to Remus' lips. "I promise, I'm right by your side for as long as you want me."

"And if I didn't want you?" Remus whispered.

"Then I'd be just your friend," Sirius insisted softly. "You mean too much to me to just let you go, Moony. I swear that I'll do what I can to make your life into something that'll make you happy again… just work with me."

"What if I can't?" Remus found himself asking.

"Remus, you're at a tough point in your life. You have two choices. You can carry on here and be miserable and get more and more down, but I'll be at your side the entire time to do what I can… or you can come to London with me. You can say goodbye to the place that's made you unhappy. You can get a job somewhere that you'd like. It's sink or swim. What's your choice? I can help you but I can't force you to be happy. You have to stop forcing yourself away from happy things too. It'll only work if you're willing to let it."

"You," Remus whispered, hoping he didn't sound needy. "I just need you and I can do this."

"As a friend?" Sirius checked.

"As much more," Remus admitted, before turning back to the bathroom to use the loo.

.o.

 _My love_

.o.

The couple had opted for another hour in bed before breakfast. After all, it was just the pair of them as there were no guests checking in for a couple of days, so they could afford for breakfast to be a little bit late. Sirius insisted on helping out in the kitchen, sharking smiles and kisses with Remus as they worked together.

It actually felt better doing this with someone and for the first time, Remus could see why his parents liked it so much. Having someone there to share it with made it seem like less of a hardship.

He had often wondered how his parents had stayed happy running the B&B and he could see it a little better with Sirius there. Having someone to work with took away some of the loneliness. If he had met Sirius a few years ago, maybe he'd have chosen to stay in Wales… if Sirius was willing to stay, but he had too much resentment for his business now. Plus, it was clear that Sirius had a life that he already loved. Remus couldn't pull him away from that.

It was that same day that Remus put the B&B on the market. It didn't take long for people to show interest in it either. With Sirius at his side, Remus ran the B&B, allowing customers in and people to view it who were interested in buying.

But he refused all offers. It was his parents business and he wanted it to go to the right person, whoever that was. None of the people felt right.

And as the weeks passed by, Remus felt a little bit better when Sirius showed no signs of leaving. The longer Sirius stayed, the closer the pair got. The closer they got, the more Remus fell in love with Sirius and the happier he felt at not being alone.

Two months after the sale signs went up, Mrs Bradley's daughter made an offer on the B&B. It was less than Remus had hoped for, but Mrs Bradley had always helped him out and he had no doubts about her and her family running the B&B. After discussing it with Sirius, he accepted her offer and the pair started packing up everything Remus wanted to take.

.o.

 _Let's leave... oh let's get away_

.o.

Sirius drove the moving van through Wales and Remus allowed himself one more look around as they moved slowly down the high-street. He didn't have loads that he wanted to keep. A couple of bits of furniture that his mother adored that reminded Remus too much of her, and some bits from his own room. Most of his boxes were filled with books. He even left his bed after Sirius assured him that his bed was spacious enough for both of them.

"Are you okay love?" Sirius asked, glancing at him with concern.

"A little sad to say goodbye to my home," Remus admitted softly. "But excited to start the next chapter in my life."

"I'm glad to hear." Sirius turned mischievous eyes to Remus. "How about I do something to cheer you up?"

Remus perked up quickly. So far, most of Sirius' attempts to cheer him up involved sex, though there were some romantic dinners and walks and picnics.

"Direct me to somewhere we won't get caught," Sirius ordered. "When we park, I'm going to ride you right where you're sitting."

Remus attempted to nod as he visualised the scene. "Second turning on the left. It doesn't get used much, except on market days. It loops back around so we can get back to this road easily."

Sirius did as he was told, quickly moving down the road and turning. He drove until Remus gave the order to stop.

"I want to be reminded of this moment for the rest of the drive," Sirius insisted, pulling his trousers and boxers off as quickly as he could.

"Oh, you will," Remus insisted with a grin.

.o.

 _My life, my love, my soul_

.o.

"Sirius, what are you doing?"

Remus hovered near the van, uncertain how to proceed. From the gist of things, Sirius hadn't actually told anyone Remus was coming back with him. The pair were far enough away to think they couldn't be overheard… but Remus could hear.

"What do you mean?"

"You said you were going to help your pen-pal but you've come back here with a bloke none of us have heard of and just announce he's living with you. This is stupid, even for you."

"James," Sirius sounded hurt and Remus wondered if he should just take the van and go to a storage place for now and rent a room somewhere. This was a bad idea. He shouldn't have got his hopes up.

"No. You can't just spring things like this on us. You told us all to be here but—"

"It's Moony," Sirius insisted. "That's him over there. You can say whatever you want about me making rash choices, but this isn't rash."

"Well, how do you explain it?"

"I love him," Sirius admitted. "I'm completely in love with him. If Remus even felt the same, I could see myself spending the rest of my life trying to make him happy. I've never felt anything close to this before."

There was a long silence. "When you were with Lucius a couple of years ago…"

"That was _nothing_ compared to how I feel. This is a forever thing if he wants it too. I just don't want to scare him away. I don't want to come on too strong. But the way I feel when his name pops up on my computer or when I kiss him… or even the first moment I saw him. He's my soulmate, I love him and he's here to stay. Whatever his and my souls are made of, they are the same."

Remus couldn't breath. He had thought Sirius liked him, but love? He had never considered that Sirius' feelings would be that strong too. He had realised quickly after the first night that he was falling in love but had suspected in the back of his mind that Sirius would be just another man to break his heart. None of this felt real but he couldn't deny that it felt right. Sirius was his soulmate.

"I can't argue with love," James finally said. "Why is he here though - it feels a bit soon?"

"He needed to get away. I would rather not talk about it because it's not fair to Remus to discuss his business. But if he wanted to stay where he was, I'd have been here packing my own life up to go and join him there. I'd sell my business and my house and go and be with him."

"Okay."

"Okay?" Sirius repeated.

"You're my brother, Sirius. If you love him that much, I stand by your choice. You could have called and given me some warning at least. Mum and Dad are going to be pissed that you kept him a secret. Mum's still trying to set you up on dates."

"Let's move Remus in first. I don't want to scare him away by rushing him to meet my parents. Just everything at his pace. I don't want to be pushy or over eager or any of the stuff from the past, alright? So… let's get unpacking and order some takeaway."

"Sounds good. I'm sorry about earlier, I just… if you love him, he must be a good guy. I just want to make sure you're not doing something rash. As long as you're happy..."

"I am," Sirius insisted. "And Remus is too, that's what matters. I've never been happier."

The pair walked back over and James grinned at Remus. "Sorry about that. Sirius didn't think to tell us what was going on. Welcome to London, I'm James."

"It's nice to meet you," Remus replied shyly. "I didn't expect him to send for help, I can do most of it by myself, it mostly just boxes."

"Don't worry," James insisted. "It'll take us a lot less time if we all work together." He nodded at the group that standing around the van. "Go ahead," he insisted.

The van opened and everyone began talking as they unloaded the boxes. Sirius approached Remus, wrapping his arms around him tightly and placing a soft kiss to his lips. "Happy?" he asked.

"Very," Remus replied. "I can't be anything but happy today. I have a new life - a new start with the man I… I love. I don't think I could feel any happier."

"Just wait until I get you into my bed," Sirius murmured, his eyes lighting up at the word 'love'. "I'm sure I can improve the day more."

"You mean, you can top what we did in the moving van?" Remus asked.

Sirius smirked. "Tonight I'll let you tie me up."

Remus pondered the idea for a moment, visualising Sirius blindfolded and tied to a bed. He shivered. "You're right. The day will only get better!"

"Oh, and Remus… I love you too."

"Oi, lovebirds, less talking and more unpacking," James called as he grabbed a box of books from the truck. "Save that for later."

* * *

 **7150 words**

Review please :)


End file.
